Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Mattie McGrath, our chairman, will stop me. I am sorry about all of that, a Cheann Comhairle.

Since it has been done by another Deputy and as I always do, I wish to declare an interest in this sector. It was stated that perhaps certain Members should not partake in today's vote if they were involved in or had an interest in the matter. That means that, if there were an issue with agriculture in future, every Deputy who farmed or had land at home would not be able to participate in a vote and Deputies who were teachers could not partake in education debates. That is totally ridiculous.

I appreciate what the Government is trying to do. All Deputies present, be they in government or not, are contacted every day of the week by people with housing needs and who are facing urgent situations. That is not a gift of a certain section of Members in this Dáil who believe they are the only people standing up for tenants' rights. We are 100% committed to ensuring that tenants have rights, but also that the people who own property have rights. Property has been talked about this morning as if it falls out of the sky and lands in people's laps. They are mortgage holders as well. It does not fall out of the sky at all. There are terribly good landlords who are doing their level best. They run their properties like a business and in a professional way just like a person running a shop, farm or anything else does. If they were not in that sector and doing the work they do, the State would not be able to take care of the housing needs of everyone in Ireland.

I do not want to see people renting indefinitely. That has been my belief all my life. There is a certain period in people's lives where they might have to rent, but I would love to see young couples in particular in their own homes, be it by eventually getting a local authority house or by getting up on their feet with mortgages and front doors of their own.

11 o’clock

For everybody in life, there is a period of time, for example, starting out, perhaps even before they get married that people set up home together and they need to rent a property or they might need to rent because of work, to get their feet under them and realise where they want to finish up in life. It is not as though renting is a bad thing, but the one thing that is being portrayed here all the time is as if the people who own these properties are bad people and they are doing some harm. It is the exact opposite. They are taxpayers. Every penny that they get, they give half of it in tax. The people on the left here seem to continuously knock this sector, but of course they knock every businessman and woman. They knock people who create employment. They knock them as if they are evil people. What would the left rather they do - leave this country and go abroad and perhaps create jobs somewhere else and leave everybody here with nothing and pay no tax here in this country? These are the points I want to make.

I am acutely aware of the situation. I thank the Government for bringing in the regulations whereby people could not be evicted if they lost their jobs during the pandemic. I thank the previous Government and the present Government for what they are doing in that regard, but we have to remember that it does happen that people whose jobs were not affected and who did not lose any money due to the pandemic turned around and stopped paying rent. That has happened. I have been contacted by people who own property and who are not receiving rent. They have to continue paying their mortgage. They have to insure the property and maintain it and they might not be getting one penny for it while all of that is going on. That is wrong. I know of cases where people who have been getting rent allowance did not pay their rent. One has to be balanced and fair on this entire issue. I would like to make more points but the Chair is telling me my time is up. I am sorry if I ate into anybody else's time. I appreciate where the Government is coming from on this issue.

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