Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to have an opportunity to speak on this important Bill. The fact it has garnered such support from a wide range of Opposition Deputies, 56 in total, shows just how vital the legislation is. We know that rents continued to increase in the academic year 2019 to 2020 and into the 2020 to 2021 academic year, despite the pandemic exposing the unsustainable and twisted nature of accommodation inflation as rents in the capital rose by 0.3% over the pandemic period. This also begs the question as to where this unresponsive upward spiral of growth is going to end.

There is no invisible hand regulating supply and demand. Rents continue to rise even amid a global pandemic. In 2020, Ireland was the fifth most expensive country in Europe to rent a home. This proves again the effect the pandemic has had on Irish families. We know a battle ensued when students were told to go home, and prevented by law from using their accommodation. A huge number of Clare students contacted my office at the time and I remember how distressed and confused they were. They were not getting fair play. These students and families were already struggling to meet rent demands for their accommodation and this lack of fairness compounded the issue. Many have had to go to moneylenders just to get by. We need to ensure this does not happen again.

We need to ensure that student renters are given the same protection as other renters.

This Bill is needed to protect the rights of students who have not been afforded their entitlements as tenants who have, as they say, been milked for all they have been worth for years. This Bill, for example, will prevent landlords from charging one month's rent in advance. I believe it is as good a time as any to re-evaluate the precarious rental situations of many students and take concrete actions towards rectifying the discrepancies in the supply of and making student accommodation accessible and affordable in the future.

I call on all Deputies to support this Bill.

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