Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas. It will be a first if I do not go over time. I thank my colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, for bringing this forward. Everyone accepts we are dealing with a nightmare scenario as regards rentals. We have a situation that has been created by the fact that the State has failed to build houses. There was an acceptance that the private sector would sort things out and the market would regulate itself but that has not happened.

I accept that there have been some useful initiatives from the Minister concerning voids. As my colleagues have stated, however, we need multiple solutions to what is a complex problem. We must ensure we have affordable cost rental opportunities, mortgages and rents. All that has already been detailed here. The baseline is set by HAP. It is necessary to ensure people who should be able to avail of social housing, which does not exist, can access HAP. Houses in towns like Dundalk, even modest houses in local authority areas, now have prices that we would not have been thought possible some years ago. Families are being charged from €1,200 up to €1,600 a month. That is absolute madness. Those families are also being outbid by groups of young people who may work in factories locally and can afford that level of rent. However, that means there are many people who fall between two stools and that is the story with which we are dealing. Many people have already mentioned that the PUP is being cut and that means we are now dealing with a cohort of people who need all possible protections.

I welcome that the Minister is going to meet Louth County Council soon, because we have a major issue with land banks that were bought at great cost on instruction from the Government in 2007, back at the height of the boom. These lands are costing Louth County Council about €1 million per year. We must ensure we deal with that problem as it impacts local authority funding. We must begin a proper housebuilding project. That is absolutely necessary. The underfunding of local authorities is another major problem. Not only were many voids let go for six months to a year, and we welcome the moneys provided to turn around some of them, but there is also a great deal of housing stock but an insufficient budget to deal with it.

This is only one small step, but it is absolutely necessary in stopping the rot of rising rent prices. We must deal with the difficult issue of institutional landlords and ensure we give protections not only to tenants, but also to decent landlords. Organisations such as Threshold and Focus Ireland have spoken about the need to professionalise the sector. I refer to landlords with three houses, or fewer, who want to do the right thing. The first thing we must do, however, is ensure that rents do not go up and that we allow them to fall by increasing supply. The responsibility here lies with the Government. If there are constitutional difficulties, it is up to the Government to offer another solution.

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