Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Many people feel the Government is working very hard for landlords and developers and not for those who need housing. There are thousands in this city with housing needs. Fair rent homes work on the principle that people pay a fair rent based on the cost to build and maintain their homes. It is not based on the current profit-driven model for which the Taoiseach stands. Fair rent homes are an alternative to the current private rental market and mortgage debt model and offer public rental housing for those with different income levels. The fair rent home is crash-proof and poses a secure rental alternative to debt-based housing provision. It provides stability in the rental sector of the sort that works in other countries. The fair rent home offers security of tenure and lifetime affordable housing, which means people can plan their futures without worrying constantly about increasing rents and the threat of eviction and homelessness, as faced by the woman to whom I referred earlier. A delegation from Dublin City Council visited Vienna recently for a conference and returned convinced that this will work. The proposal must now be driven through the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government to ensure it is implemented here. We could build 70,000 units over the next five years, linked to local authority building of 30,000 units.

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