Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am being interrupted again and that is the problem because Sinn Féin does not like what it is hearing. It voted against every single budget we brought forward that reformed this economy and put us in a position whereby we can invest in public services again. Now we are meant to believe that the alternative budgets it brings forward are credible. That is a nonsense. We are back again to tax credits, hollowing out the tax base and putting our economy at risk within ten years of the previous crisis when the lack of a proper taxation system and fiscal controls brought our country to its knees.

I know that rent freezes sound good to most people because the idea is that their rent will not increase. However, we know that rent freezes also freeze movement within the rental sector. People do not move out of their homes. Look at what has happened in New York over decades, where movement within the rental sector was completely frozen. Movement for new renters into the rental sector here will also freeze up because there is nowhere for new renters to go because people are not leaving the homes they are renting. It freezes investment in supply and property upkeep. It is nothing but negative when it comes to what tenants actually need. Members need not take my word for it. Rent freezes have been introduced in Berlin and the experts there warned that freezing rents did not offer a solution for those looking to rent, that the level of new supply would fall, that existing homes would not be modernised and that it would not contribute to climate protection because people would not retrofit their homes.

What has happened? There has been a 40% reduction in building permissions in Berlin, year on year, to September of this year. There has been $1.1 billion of investment frozen and a risk of a loss of 5,000 properties in the rental sector. The Federal Government in Germany has also stated that the measure is unconstitutional. That is evidence that rent freezes are a bad idea.

What do our experts say? The Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, has stated that this measure would send compliant landlords out of the market and we would lose supply. The RTB also stated that it would drive other landlords underground which is bad for tenants who would have no protection in those circumstances. It stated the measure would unfairly hit landlords who have been charging below market rents for years. The Bill would be unworkable for the RTB because its whole premise rests on the annual rent register, which comes from legislation that I introduced earlier this year and which Sinn Féin supported. The rent register will not be full and in place until next year. That would mean a lacuna during which rents would again skyrocket, hurting tenants further.

We are still facing legacy issues from the economic crash and landlords are still leaving the sector. Being a landlord is not a sure bet, contrary to what Deputy Ó Broin has said. Rents are still increasing but the rent controls we introduced in 2017 has to purposes, namely, to protect tenants and prevent the undermining of supply. What has happened? In the past 12 months, roughly 20,000 new homes have been built, the highest number in a decade. Apartment completions increased by 42% on the previous 12 months. The third quarter of this year will see an 81% increase in apartments compared with the same period last year. Of course, that figure needs to increase further. I point out to Deputy Ó Snodaigh that we need more apartments in places where people want to live.

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