Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

In response to the unprecedented housing crisis which we are experiencing, I believe we are seeing the emergence of a grassroots campaign with large numbers of people increasingly saying enough is enough about the Government's failure to address this most basic issue. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is spearheading the Raise the Roof campaign, which is supported by many housing charities, NGOs, and several Opposition parties. In addition to that, over recent weeks we have seen a great number of young people mobilised under the banner, Take Back the City. These are people who were protesting about the large volume of empty properties that we have in Dublin and in other cities.

These are predominantly young people who can be described as the locked-out generation. They are locked-out of the prospect of having independent housing, whether to rent or to buy. This young generation finds it impossible to access housing. Rents nationally are now 27% above the boom-time high. In Dublin, rent for a one-bedroom apartment, for example, for a single person represents over 50% of their take-home pay. It is entirely unsustainable. This is where much of the pressure is coming from for wage increases and the complaints about the cost of living. People simply cannot afford housing any longer and they certainly cannot afford rent. We are now in a never-ending upward spiral when it comes to rent. It seems the Government's measures to date have largely been ineffective.

As well as the unaffordability of rent, this crisis is in turn having two other major impacts. It is clearly driving the homelessness crisis. It also means homeownership is largely unattainable due to the impossibility of saving while paying high rents, especially in a situation where so much housing is completely overpriced. Earlier this week the Social Democrats called for an emergency two-year rent freeze.

We believe that this would at least stop the spiral but the Government has rejected this proposal. At a time when the availability of rental properties is at an all time low, it is galling for people to get this kind of weak response from Government. Why will it not consider, as an emergency measure, introducing a freeze on rents so that there would be at least a bit of breathing space to allow some other measures to kick in? Can the Tánaiste explain his thinking in this regard and what exactly is his argument against a rent freeze?

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