Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend my Sinn Féin colleague and our spokesperson on housing, Deputy Eoin Ó Broin, on bringing this Bill to the House. The Ban on Rent Increases Bill 2021 will give families and workers living in uncertain times a little comfort as they plan their finances without the fear of rent increasing. There is huge concern and a growing call for a ban on rent increases in my constituency of Meath West because rents have gone out of control in the past ten years. To rent a house in County Meath in 2011, a family would have paid €672 per month. Now, in 2021, under the watchful eyes of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, that same house costs almost €1,300. That is nearly double the amount paid ten years ago and it hits the most vulnerable in society, as families count their last few shillings to pay their rent and utility bills and try to put food on the table. Our offices are inundated by people who are not able to pay these extortionate rents. To rent a home in Westmeath in 2011 would have cost €525 per month. Ten years later, it is now an average of €850 per month. We can see the rents in every county rising at an extremely worrying pace. In County Meath, rents increased by 6% in the last quarter of 2020.

Who is to blame for the current rental market? In 2016, our housing spokesperson introduced the Rent Certainty Bill, which would have stopped the enormous jump in rents over the last five years. Who blocked it only Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, by voting it down five times. Why would the Government parties have done this? They did it to protect the vulture funds, the cuckoo funds and the big landlords. People who are renting live with the fear of eviction every day because some landlords continue to raise their rents, which leads to families becoming homeless. Previous Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael-led Governments have failed to deliver on affordable housing. They have failed the people of Ireland and, during the last election, the voters made it clear they wanted a change in direction. The two parties teamed up, however, to make sure that did not happen. In 12 months time, when they look at this Bill again, there will be a lot more people homeless or in emergency accommodation.

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