Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is no doubt that the lives of our student population have been upended because of the pandemic. I do not need to tell the Minister that. However, people in third level institutions have adapted to the changed environment and course work has been completed online. The third level experience is both an academic learning experience and a social development opportunity for our young people. Unfortunately, over the last three years they have been deprived of the social learning experiences which the campus site has to offer. For many students, it is their first time living away from home, having to pay bills and making individual choices on their future.

In Limerick, the city is not the same without the students and we look forward to welcoming them back as soon as we can. People come from far and wide to attend the third level institutions in Limerick, of which we have many. They are very good quality institutions. Students are mainly renters and to date they have been treated differently from other renters. They have been forced to pay deposits far higher than the amount a non-student renter pays. If such a student needs to leave the rental accommodation within the notice period, the penalties are restrictive. The Bill is welcome in so far as it sets out that the practices of charging excessive deposits and imposing long notice periods will end. The deposits and upfront payments applied to student renters were always excessive, but the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the economic challenges they and their parents face. Many of these students come from families who have been dependent on the PUP or temporary wage subsidy scheme for the last year. While State support was, and is, very welcome, it is not enough to allow for the running of a family home or to meet the demands of upfront rent payments and deposits on students and their families. Students deserve much more. They deserve to be treated similarly to other renters and this Bill goes some way towards addressing that issue. The inclusion of the proposed new section 19B is very welcome. It provides that renters will no longer be required to pay an advance payment that is in excess of the amount of rent payable for a period of one month under the tenancy agreement, with a similar provision for the payment of a deposit. The inclusion of this section will put all potential renters on a similar footing and will alleviate some of the economic challenges faced by parents in sending a son or daughter to third level education. This will go some way in alleviating some of the pressures renters face, but more needs to be done.

The simple fact of the matter is that rents, in general, are far too high. The rental system is broken and rents are far too high for many of those in need of accommodation. Earlier, I referred to the third level institutions in Limerick, one of which is the University of Limerick, located in the Castletroy area of the city. As we know now, during the third level off season, we have seen a decrease in rental prices in the area but they are still very high. A quick glance at daft.ieshows that a two-bedroom house in Cois Ghrúda, Castletroy, is €1,300 per month. This seems to be the standard cost of rent in Limerick with a two-bedroom house in Dooradoyle, on the other side of the city, costing the same amount. Having to pay this type of rent is extremely difficult for anyone, but particularly for a single person who is paying rent while saving for a house. While the amendment to the 2004 Act is welcome, more needs to be done to support people in rental accommodation. A plan is needed to reduce rent, to protect renters and to provide a pathway towards ending the crisis in the private rental sector. Without this, we will be perpetuating the rental crisis and condemning families to homelessness. Housing must be affordable, but for many renters and perspective buyers it is not. In Limerick, we see the cruel situation of many people who are caught in the middle and are shut out. They cannot avail of social housing because they earn just above the income threshold limit, and they cannot get a mortgage. Even if they can, it is for an amount that is far less than the actual cost of homes in the city.

In Limerick, we have more than 2,000 people on the housing waiting list. We have generations of the same family living in the same house, often small terrace houses, with few prospects of moving. The situation has to change. It is not fair on the younger generations who need independence of living outside the family home, and it is not fair on their parents. Rent is 44% higher than it was in 2016. In Limerick, there was a 6.3% increase in rent prices from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the same quarter of 2020. While I welcome and support this Bill, there remains much more to do. If we are to deliver for a generation of renters, we must deliver social and affordable housing - housing that is truly affordable. We must give this generation the hope that they can aspire to own their own home. We need the Minister to step up. We need further action in the area of the rental market and we must see the delivery of affordable and social housing.

In their efforts to obtain a home, the odds are stacked against generation rent. For many people, the challenge is even greater. A single person who wants to buy a house can forget about it. A single parent who wants to purchase a house sees hopeless ambition. Indeed, couples with two incomes and no dependants struggle to get a foothold on the property ladder. Today is a good step for some renters but so much more needs to be done if we are to rescue a generation from the pressures of the housing crisis.

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