Dáil debates

Thursday, 25 March 2021

Residential Tenancies Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed)

 

2:00 pm

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

I welcome that this legislation does extend the protection for certain renters. We all accept that we are in a brutal pandemic and it has lasted longer than anticipated. However, we were already dealing with a huge issue, namely, the almost pandemic of ridiculous rental prices. There were people who were already absolutely stretched in relation to making these payments. There are people in my constituency who are paying rents of €1,000, €1,200 and even up to €1,600 per month for relatively modest homes. Some people were already in arrears and will not be protected.

I beseech the Minister to look at the amendments, particularly those tabled by Deputy Ó Broin, from the point of view of rectifying this and ensuring that these protections are included. I am talking about people who maybe do avail of the housing assistance payment, HAP. For example, it could be the case that a child has gone from the age of 17 to 18 and suddenly the family cannot avail of the same amount of money, so they find themselves in a worse set of conditions. We must deal with that.

While the Minister is here, I would also like to ask him about the European report that was critical of the standards on social housing within the State. I welcome some of the retrofit operations that are being put in place. They must be expanded to a greater degree. I know the Minister said he is interested in the local authority in County Louth. I will be dealing with him myself, because there is a huge amount of social housing work and maintenance that needs to be done and an insufficient budget with which to do it.

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