Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Any decision on changing the tax treatment of REITs is a matter for the budget and all proposals for the budget will be considered between now and decisions being made in October. It is always the case that we regularly review tax incentives and tax expenditures in advance of a budget.

Regarding a rent freeze, we would certainly do it if we thought it would work but we do not think it would work. We think it would be counterproductive. One of the biggest problems we have is the large number of people leaving the rental sector. Even Opposition Members have highlighted the large number of people renting out a house or property now deciding to sell it on and leaving the rental market. This is a real problem because if fewer properties are available for rent, inevitably it will make it harder for people to find places to rent. We may find that a rent freeze would result in more people deciding to sell the house or apartment they were renting out. While rents might be frozen, many people would not be able to find anywhere. We could see an increase in homelessness as a consequence and none of us wants to see that. We think what we have developed, which is rent pressure zones with increases of no more than 4%, is a better response because at least that way it allows new properties to come into the rental market and does not leave people with nowhere to rent. Rent freezes might work for people whose rent is frozen but people who have nowhere to rent or need to move would probably find themselves more likely to be homeless and, therefore, that would be a counterproductive policy in our view.

Affordability is a real issue in many parts of the country, not least in the Dublin area. We saw interesting numbers in the past week or two showing the average price of a semi-detached house was approximately €200,000 in Galway and Limerick, approximately €150,000 in Waterford and even less than €100,000 in some rural counties. Of course, the picture in other parts of the country, including Dublin, is very different. The affordability index the Deputy mentioned is based on the price of the median house in each county. Generally, people buying their first home do not by the median house; they buy a house at entry level. Using the median is not appropriate in assessing affordability in this regard. It certainly does not tell the full story. Very few people buy the average or median house and most people buying for the first time tend to buy a starter home.

With regard to An Bord Pleanála, I welcome the fact it has refused planning permission for that particular co-living development in Cookstown near Tallaght. The reason there are guidelines on co-living is to ensure inappropriate developments do not get planning permission. Just as there are apartment buildings and housing estates that do not get planning permission, some co-living developments will not and should not get planning permission. The type of proposal made in this case is not what was ever intended and the guidelines make this clear, which is why it was refused.

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