Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Every other issue has been buried amid the chaos of the last seven days. The Government has now survived a motion of no confidence. In whatever time it has left, it is important that the Government focuses on some of the crucial issues on which it promised clear action. A new report was published on the private rental sector this week. It showed the largest yearly increase in rents across the country since these records began in 2002. The report from property websiteDaft.iecovered the 2016 calendar year. During that year, rents rose by an extraordinary 13.5%. As the Minister well knows, increases of this magnitude put unbearable pressure on families. They make it harder, if not impossible, for people to buy their own homes. Broken down, these figures show 14.5% increases in Dublin and 12% hikes in Cork. Even outside the so-called pressure areas, we saw rises of 12.5% in rents in Limerick and 10.7% in Waterford. My colleague and our housing spokesperson, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, has called on the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coveney, to consider including these in the so-called pressure zones. Of course, he has refused. The Government is basically telling people in Limerick and Waterford that it will do nothing to halt the galloping rents that they are now finding unaffordable.

Even if that were the only issue, it would be strong and sufficient evidence for new action. However, another worrying aspect highlighted in the Daft.iereport is that there is now a critical supply issue. The number of homes available to rent at the start of this month was just 4,000. We need a rapid increase in the availability of housing and the supply solution. In the meanwhile, is the Government willing to accept that the rental strategy it set out to this House is not fit for purpose? Is it not now clear that formal rent control, for which we have advocated for some time and for which my colleague, Deputy Alan Kelly, has advocated for a protracted period of time, is the only policy that will have a real impact on the galloping rent increases? Will the Minister confirm his agreement to revisit the whole issue of formal national rent control now?

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