Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Existing rents are not in line with the RPZs. I am sure the Minister has read the report. The increase in rents was 4.9%, which is in excess of the 4% cap. The Minister's reference to the volatility of quarter-on-quarter reports is accurate but the problem is that the Government does not understand the pressures that renters are under at this point. According to the RTB report, rents in the greater Dublin area have increased by €1,536, which is €1,536 more that people renting in the greater Dublin area have to find. Wages are not increasing by that amount. These families are under pressure as a result of the high cost of living, childcare costs, insurance costs and other cost of living pressures. We all know that those entering homelessness are, in the main, tenants whose landlords have taken vacant possession and who are no longer able to afford rents in their areas. We need serious proposals. On six occasions, the Government, with Fianna Fáil, voted down rent certainty that would have curtailed these increases, which is the reason landlords are able to seek sky-high rent prices.

Will the Government introduce the measures I have proposed? Rather than continually saying that rents are too high, will it introduce a rent freeze and a tax relief for renters and bring forward the necessary legislation, staff and resources to enable the RTB, to properly monitor and police this area?

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