Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Governments change policies as facts change. Sometimes policies change and in this case, we had a change of Government. It is a new, different Government, involving three parties, namely, my party, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party. Some of the policies of this Government are different to the ones of the past, as they should be. Among the reforms we made to help people who are renting is the introduction of a rent freeze in real terms. That means that rents can only increase by the rate of inflation or less, as measured by the harmonised index of consumer prices. The logic behind that is to protect renters to make sure that rents do not rise quicker than prices in general or incomes, which is important.

However, in doing so, we do have to strike a balance. The Deputy pointed out in his remarks that the number of rental properties in Ireland is falling. Landlords are leaving the rental markets. Bear in mind that 86% of those landlords, of whom I am not one, only own one or two properties. We need to balance that too . One person's rent is another person's income. It might be his or her pension or how he or she pays the mortgage. In a time of rising prices and interest rates - it has not come yet but it will - if you freeze rents to zero, that could mean an income or pension cut for another person or another person unable to pay the mortgage on that property, which is exactly the problem that the Deputy identified and could cause more landlords to leave and fewer rental properties on the market. The only solution to bring down rents, which should be the objective rather than just freezing them, is more supply. That is what we need and we need lots more of it.

I acknowledge it is the long-standing position of the Deputy and his party to link rents to inflation. They were for that before they were against it. Now they are against it. As is always the case, when something is done, it is never enough. The Deputy's party wants to do more; the consequences do not matter. We have done that now, however, rents are now frozen in real terms and that will make a real difference for people who have seen rent increases of 5%, 10% or 15% in the past, which they will not see any more. Everyone in this House should welcome that. It needs to be in place until we see a step change in supply, because that is what will allow rents to stabilise properly and, it is hoped, fall in the years ahead.

Cost rental is now a reality. The first homes are available under cost rental. Some were built on Enniskerry Road in Dún Laoghaire. There is a plan to do so on Emmet Road. There are also those that will be provided in north County Dublin. That came as a result of a decision taken by the former Minister, Eoghan Murphy, to pursue the cost-rental policy. The Deputy talked about it; we have done it. For the first time, those properties are available to people. We will need many more of them. It is new and is not something we have ever done in Ireland before, at least not by the Government, but we are very committed to it. Providing cost-rental properties can make a real difference and enable people to rent at rates much lower than commercial rates. It can also work well because, unlike social housing, the rent covers the cost of building the property. It can be done on a commercial basis and off balance sheet and in a way that does not affect the Exchequer or cause us to have to curtail spending in other areas.

As for Sinn Féin's Bill, the Government has decided today that it will not be opposing the Bill on Part V. That will allow it to go to pre-legislative scrutiny for further detailed legal and economic analysis. The reason we are not going to 20% right away is very sensible, in that the Housing Agency has advised us that if we go from 10% to 20% right away and with no transitional provision, the cost will be borne by the 80%.

It will put up the price of housing for people wanting to buy. That is the advice of the Housing Agency. As people who want to prioritise home ownership, we do not want to do anything that drives up house prices for people who want to buy their own homes. That is not the case for Sinn Féin.

See this speech in context