Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The cliché that landlords are exiting the sector is trotted out repeatedly. There has been a massive increase in the number of people who live in the private rented sector. I am neutral on the question of how many landlords are in the sector but I am aware that many more people are living in it. Landlords in Ireland make twice what landlords in Britain or Germany make and they make the highest profits in the EU. Yesterday, the Minister had a choice. There is an issue with some landlords not renting out their properties and keeping them vacant. There are two ways of dealing with that, either give them a tax break or tax them. The Minister opted to give them a tax break.

Everybody in the country thought that yesterday's budget was to be the housing budget. We heard from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael that it was going to be about housing. It was not about housing, despite it being the biggest crisis in society as the future of children and young people is being stolen from them. Many young people are stuck at home and many workers are paying massive rents. Yesterday, the Minister again chose to incentivise landlords and the rental sector. There is a problem in this Dáil. People should declare an interest. I am sorry to bore the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, but this is our opportunity to contribute to the debate.

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