Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin will support the Bill. We thank the Labour Party and Deputy Bacik for bringing it forward. However, we believe it could go further in a number of ways given the crisis situation in which people now find themselves. We are living with the consequences of the failure Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael led Governments to put citizens' welfare above that of vested interests. Imagine finding oneself in a situation where one is told that the house in which one lives is to be sold and that one's family will then have to enter a rental market with a massive shortage of supply. This is the reality for many families in County Tipperary, where rental costs have increased year on year by 12.7%, with a related reduction in the number of available properties.

Local authority housing is of limited use as the shortage in County Tipperary is reflected in many other constituencies. Tipperary County Council's 2020 annual report put the social housing need at 3,481, with 1,868 of those in receipt of the housing assistance payment. In other words, the private rental sector, which problematically is relied on to make up for the shortfall in local authority housing, is falling through. However, even if more local authority housing was available, HAP income limits are out of date. All of these factors are forcing families to live in overcrowded family homes or to rely on friends with a spare room.

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I am aware of people having to move back in with former partners and spouses, which is no good for them or their children's well-being. Those who cannot get help are faced with accepting unsuitable or substandard accommodation, or worse, finding themselves with nowhere to go. Unfortunately, there is nothing that the local authority can do until the family are in fact homeless. These are the consequences of evictions right now. There are just too many families who contact me in a state of panic because their tenancy has been terminated through no fault of their own and are faced with a rental market that does not have the capacity.

Whatever capacity there is too expensive. That is why I want to give specific mention as to how this Bill deals with grounds for eviction. I welcome the proposal to remove the sale of properties as an acceptable reason for evictions. This is something that Sinn Féin introduced legislation to deal with in the previous Dáil term with our Homeless Prevention Bill.

Sinn Féin also wants to see a ban on rent increases for three years as this Bill proposes. This was also outlined in two Bills we introduced in the previous Dáil term. The difference is that Sinn Féin’s Bills provided for more than just a rent freeze as it allowed for rents to also go down. This Bill contains many elements and Sinn Féin will support it although a number of parts of it that could go further. The policies of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over the years have damaged this country. Just ask all those families who have nowhere to call home or who are afraid they will not.

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