Dáil debates

Wednesday, 28 April 2021

Residential Tenancies (Student Rents and Other Protections) (Covid-19) Bill 2021: Second Stage [Private Members]

 

10:55 am

Photo of Cian O'CallaghanCian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

To be fair, I think the Minister was trying to be helpful with his intervention. I thank him for that and I appreciate that these issues will be discussed on Committee Stage. However, it would be useful to have his explicit view on the question I raised in order that we know where we stand. I thank the Minister for being willing to engage on that point.

The essence of these proposals is that students and their families were penalised last year for following public heath measures.

This should have been dealt with as a matter of urgency at the time rather than it being left to students and their families having to lobby and, in most cases, to achieve improvements. We were dealing with other matters quickly via legislation and there should have been leadership from the Government at that point.

Other Deputies made the point that charging in advance is a major burden on families and is very unfair. That practice needs to go. The essence of this is that students and their families should not be treated differently from other tenants or renters, as this is deeply unfair. We know that many people have had a very tough year and that students have had a particularly tough year. Most of them have been studying from bedrooms and it is very difficult that this amounts to their participation in college life.

This legislation must be seen in terms of wider reforms that are required to protect the rights of renters. I welcome the Minister's comments that he will do the latter. Renters in Ireland have faced some of the highest levels of rent increases in the European Union over the past number of years, with rents increasing in Ireland by over 40% over the past 13 years. That is double the European average. In the capital city, Dublin, rents for apartments are more expensive than any other capital city in the European Union. That has happened over the past number of years under the watch of Fine Gael, supported by Fianna Fáil, and the current Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael coalition Government.

Part of the problem is State payments to private landlords to support low-income renters in insecure tenancies. Those payments are fast approaching the €1 billion mark. It is fine if the Minister is anxious to leave because I do not wish to delay him.

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