Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will use my time to talk about rents outside of the rent pressure zones. I refer to places in my constituency such as Roscommon town and Ballinasloe, County Galway. Rents in County Roscommon have increased by more than 9% in the last year alone, with the average rent now €783 per month and continuing to rise. The average rent in Ballinasloe is €743, which is an increase of almost 8% on this time last year. However, in many cases, rents are much higher. County Galway is one of eight counties in which the average rent countywide is more than €1,000. These are not big urban areas but rural towns in the west of Ireland. The 2016 census showed that the majority of people living in towns like Ballinasloe are renters who are either renting privately or through the local authority. Those tenants renting privately have few or no protections. I have been contacted by people in Ballinasloe whose rents have increased by between €200 and €300 in one go. What are we to say to these workers and their families? Where rents are increased, tenants have no choice but to struggle on, paying more. They have no other option. A constituent put it to me that there was nowhere else to rent in town and that they could not afford to save a deposit.

Supply is also a major issue. As I stand here this evening, there is one one-bed apartment available to rent in Roscommon town. In Ballinasloe, there are two. That is it. People are being trapped. They are paying extortionate rents, which are still rising, and are unable to save a deposit for a house. This is particularly impossible for young people starting out. On top of increasing rents, we saw a EUROSTAT report last month which showed that goods and services are the joint second most expensive in all of Europe. Irish prices for housing, heating and light are the highest in Europe at 78% above the EU average. Now is therefore exactly the right time to ban rent increases. There was nothing in what the Minister announced last week with regard to rents that will help a single renter in constituencies like mine.

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