Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is neither prudent nor responsible to leave people struggling with runaway rents and to simply say to them, "Well, the good news, folks, is that this budget provides extra resources for the RTB." That is not what people need. It is not what people wanted to hear from the Government. There is a legitimate expectation on the part of those in the rental market and those trying to access it that they will have a stable roof over their heads at an affordable rent. We are in a housing emergency. The Taoiseach himself has conceded that point. He has conceded the fact that a huge amount of the new homelessness is coming from the private rented sector. He concedes, surely, that rents are at the highest level ever in the history of the State. On budget day, however, he sat on his hands. That is neither prudent nor responsible; it is negligent. In the selfsame budget the Government allows for mortgage interest relief for landlords. Deputy Micheál Martin, the Taoiseach's partner in government, said this morning on RTÉ radio that there is more to come, that there is another measure favourable to landlords-----

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