Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I do not think the tax system is the primary way through which to alleviate our extortionate rents but I would support this or any other measure that would give any relief to people paying an absolutely shocking proportion of their income on keeping a roof over their head. I would be surprised if the Minister could stand over the status quo, whether he agrees with this measure or what I think is necessary, that is, real rent controls. By that I mean rent controls whereby a body - it could be a beefed up Residential Tenancies Board or the local authority - just goes in and sets rents at affordable levels and says to landlords: "You cannot charge any more than this." The rough guideline that would be applied is that rents or any other accommodation costs should not be more than about 25% to 30% of an average worker's income, while perhaps looking specifically at the property in question but setting a maximum that any landlord could charge for a property. Of course, even those sorts of rent controls will not solve the problem because the market will not deliver the affordable rents we need for the majority of working people. The State itself has to deliver at scale council housing and affordable rental housing.

That said, even if the Minister does not agree with the amendment, surely he must acknowledge we have an absolutely out of control-----

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