Dáil debates

Wednesday, 14 July 2021

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions

 

12:02 pm

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Last week, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan of Fianna Fáil was quite blunt in his assessment of the party's handling of the housing crisis. He said: "[Fianna Fáil] doesn’t understand the scale of the housing crisis". I happen to think that the Deputy was being unfair. It is not just Fianna Fáil that does not understand the scale of the housing crisis, it is the entire Government. Given the Government's shameful U-turn to facilitate tax breaks for cuckoo funds last week, that much is clear.

If the Taoiseach wants to begin to comprehend the scale of the crisis facing renters, might I ask that he read the survey published by the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, today, which lays bare the hardship being endured by renters all over the country? Nationally, more than 50% spend more than 30% of their take-home pay on rent. That is after they pay tax, PRSI and USC and cover the cost of going to work. In Dublin, 64% of renters spend more than 30% of their take-home pay on rent. On average, tenants in Dublin spend 40% of their disposable income on rent. Matters are even worse for a significant proportion of renters in Dublin, 23% of whom are paying more than 50% of their disposable income on rent. This is unsustainable. In my constituency, it is not unusual to see a three-bedroom house rented for €2,000 per month more. That is someone would pay for the mortgage.

Of the renters surveyed, 36% still expect to be renting in ten years' time. The RTB's summary report is quite clear as to why. According to it:

Many tenants in the focus groups see no real path away from renting, believing that they have no financial option now and in the future other than to rent. They may wish to own a home in future, but it is more aspirational than feasible in their current situation. Fundamentally they believe that they are locked out of the purchase market because of high house prices and their inability to qualify for a mortgage.

In recent months, we have seen a belated reversal of some of Fine Gael's disastrous 2016 policy of capping rent increases at 4%, but this Government has linked increases to inflation just as inflation is beginning to rise. If rents had been linked to inflation back in 2016, as some of us called for, then they would have increased by 2.8%. Since then, they have soared by 40%.

Will the Government freeze rents for a period, perhaps three years, instead of linking them to inflation, which will only drive up prices? When will we see the summer economic statement and what kind of budget will be available in the context of the Housing for All plan? That is the first thing we will all look for because we will want to know what the intent is.

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