Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. As he said, build-to-rent makes up 16% overall but that figure is 65% in my constituency. That is a predominance of build-to-rent. I take the Minister of State's point about Maynooth but we might just stick with the issue around the quality of build-to-rent accommodation. It is a lower standard and there are lower requirements for storage and public amenities. Even those people who rent should have a place to park their prams.

I want to bring to the Minister of State's attention something that has been raised in the Joint Committee on Disability Matters and not only by me. Some 13% to 15% of the population has a disability. Such people are more likely to be living in poverty and less likely to be purchasing their own homes. A considerable proportion of those people live in private rental situations. The minimum requirements for spatial set-outs in build-to-rent are fundamentally in conflict with the rights of people with disabilities. A 5% variance on spatial standards means that a studio or one-bedroom apartment of 37 sq. m can be brought down to 35 sq. m. That is a tiny amount of space without any room for storage. There is no generosity in that space. We already know there is an issue in accessing the home adaptation grant for private rental properties. There is no likelihood that the significant proportion of the Irish population who have a disability can seriously use the 65% of build-to-rent permission in my constituency. That is the outsized impact that build-to-rent has on areas such as Dublin Central. I would very much like if it was 16%.

For the record, I have no objection to professional landlords and landlords who are running properties in bulk. My query and concern is about the standard of the buildings we are now putting in place.

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