Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas as an deis seo labhairt ar an mBille.

It is as good as fact that the rental crisis is worse than ever. The rise in rents continues unabated. People are losing their homes and unable to find a new home. We see the practical outworkings of that daily in our constituency offices. People are in desperate circumstances, having exhausted all options as they try to stay in their homes. They have sought time and again to find other suitable accommodation that falls within their HAP allowance but it is impossible to do so.

The most recent figures show that rents in Cork city have increased by 13.7% year on year. This is well above the national figure of 11.3% and significantly higher than the 4% increase allowed for in the rent pressure zone. As my colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, outlined yesterday, this Bill is a recognition that the rent pressure zones are not working properly. These types of rent increases would not be possible if they were working correctly. We would not have the current level of evictions or number of people facing homelessness and unable to find alternative accommodation if they were working.

A modest two-bedroom home in Cork currently rents for €1,114 a month. Three-bedroom homes generally rent for between €1,200 and €1,400, but many perfectly ordinary homes cost €1,500, €1,600 or even more to rent.

Rebuilding Ireland is not working and will not work. Its targets are inadequate and it does not take a sufficiently strong line on the rental crisis. In 2016, Sinn Féin argued that the solution was rent certainty. The crisis in now such that we need a rent freeze as an emergency measure, accompanied by relief for tenants, as opposed to the landlords, many of whom have done well financially out of the current crisis.

There are also inadequate targets for the building of social housing and affordable housing. Scarcely an affordable house has been built under any scheme so far in the Government's term. This has created a major gap because many people in work and on modest incomes do not qualify for social housing and have no real options. The lack of action on affordable housing is a cause of considerable frustration. I am not terribly optimistic for the future either. I ask the Minister to prioritise this issue because large numbers of people are locked out of the housing market. It is difficult, particularly from my generation, to plan for the future when one cannot afford a mortgage, does not qualify for any State schemes and affordable housing is not within reach. One's money is eaten up by extortionate rents, month on month. The Minister will be familiar with this issue as I am sure many of his peers and colleagues are in a similar position. Rent is so expensive that it is difficult to see more than two or three years down the line. This creates a high level of insecurity and not enough is being done to address the issue.

Sinn Féin acknowledges that the Bill includes some generally useful provisions, although we have quibbles with elements of them. Some of these issues were identified by ourselves and others during previous debates on residential tenancies legislation and it is welcome that they are now being addressed. The provision of additional powers to investigate landlords and impose sanctions is right and proper but needs resourcing. Resources are an issue in a number of areas. As Deputy Curran outlined, the rate of inspections is not high enough. I will address two aspects of this.

First, many landlords are not registered, perhaps because they believe it gives them more flexibility. Of course, it is illegal not to be registered and disqualifies the landlord from receiving HAP. Members regularly deal with people who say that a prospective landlord will not accept HAP. One often discovers that refusal is due to the landlord not being registered. We must make it practically impossible for a landlord not to be registered. Second, the issue of good and bad landlords was mentioned. Of course, there are good landlords. I am a tenant and am very satisfied with my landlord, about whom I have no complaints. However, landlords hold the balance of power. It is not the same as saying there are good and bad tenants. The structural reality built into the current housing market is that it favours landlords. That makes it easy for landlords who wish to exploit tenants to so do. It is very difficult for tenants who are being exploited to escape those circumstances. A tenant living in dire circumstances such as damp, overcrowded or badly damaged housing which may be barely fit for human habitation and who complains to the landlord very often finds that the landlord will do nothing about the complaint in the knowledge that the tenant is not in a realistic position to find a tenancy with another landlord who will accept HAP within their limits. If additional powers are to be granted to investigate landlords and impose sanctions, that must be backed up by significant resources.

There is a need for further legislative change. Those on HAP should be on the main housing waiting list. A minority of local authorities have managed to provide flexibility in that regard. The transfer list is inadequate. Many people are not aware of it or may not fill out the form correctly and be taken off the list. Those people need to be reintegrated onto the main list and that should be done through nationalisation.

I support and welcome the proposed extended notice periods. However, extended notice periods will not fully address the issue of people being evicted into homelessness. If the Government is serious about preventing evictions into homelessness, it must adopt the Focus Ireland amendment.

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