Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

First, I express my complete support and that of my party for this motion. Cost-rental has long been a pillar of Sinn Féin's proposed solutions to the housing crisis. Social housing is simply a recognition that the provision of this basic need is too important to be left to the whims of the private market. How much social housing a state is willing to build is indicative of that state's desire to meet the needs of its citizens. Clearly we have a gap in our country where the Government sees profit as being more important than the needs of its people. This is because the less a state cares, the more social housing becomes the preserve of the most vulnerable, mistreated and the poorest in our society. Social housing should be the preserve of people who want to live in a vibrant and grounded community and the mix that cost rental could provide would be crucial to this. Cost-rental is also necessary because increasingly, housing is not only expensive for average earners but unaffordable and becoming more so by the month. In my own area of east Cork, this is a major issue in areas outside of the rent pressure zones. Despite rising rents, it is unlikely that they will be able to become part of the scheme as the national average is continuing to rise year in, year out. The system is nonsensical and is not a serious policy on the part of the Government to tackle rising rents but is merely window dressing.

A number of months ago, a woman came to my constituency office and the amount of rent she was paying, while not insignificant, was affordable. However, she was facing a 70% increase in her rent because rents outside the pressure zones are not capped. The system is extremely weak and this must be addressed. The Government must act on the issue of rents. There is no justification for the current trends other than unbridled greed encouraged by the Government's apathy. There is also no justification for annual increases in rents but this is encouraged by the model of regulation adopted by this State. Rents were unaffordable for many three or four years ago. We need deep and immediate regulatory action to set this right. The Government must stop making excuses for itself and for landlords and do the right thing.

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