Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this motion. It is difficult to keep track of the number of motions and Bills on housing generated by Deputy Ó Broin, by my colleagues in the Labour Party and other Opposition parties over the last two to three years. The Minister mentioned that in his earlier contribution. These are not abstract motions or Bills. They are drawn up and tabled here today and on countless other occasions to fix a very real problem in our society and our economy. We take to this House the direct experiences of those we represent and we try as a responsible Opposition party, and I would like to describe the Labour Party as such, to propose real solutions to these problems, as others do too. I do not say this as a criticism of colleagues beside me but what is proposed in this motion is familiar. They are not dissimilar to some of the provisions laid down in Deputy Bacik's recent renters' Bill. The measures are similar because we all know objectively that the measures contained in this motion and in Deputy Bacik's recent Bill will work.

I will take the opportunity to read into the record, while respecting her anonymity, an email from a constituent today. I will read it out because it is emblematic of the wider problem that we all experience in our constituencies and in our lives. These are problems that our family members and friends have and, indeed, many in this House may experience them directly. This email came to me today. It reads:

My partner and I are renting an apartment in Drogheda over the past 2 or so years. The apartment is covered in mould and our health conditions are deteriorating. My [young] child is always sick from the mould and on antibiotics. Our bed and my child’s cot have mould on it. Our clothes and shoes have to be always thrown out because mould grows on them. My mental health is getting worse and worse living here. My partner also has an illness. We have never once missed a payment and have asked our landlord when we moved in to sort it out. This is two years on and it’s just getting worse and worse. We can’t afford anywhere else to live as the prices in Drogheda for rent are sky high. I’m so worried for our health especially my 2 year old as I have read what mould can do to your body. I will attach pictures [and she has done] so you can see what I’m talking about. I would be so grateful if you could get back to me.

I have seen the pictures. They are emblematic of the problem we are experiencing day in, day out, and all of the cases we get. I will of course get back to her but we feel powerless to support our constituents in situations like this because of all the reasons outlined by the earlier contributors. What I just read into the record is a clear depiction of the reality of precarious housing and insecurity in this country and the impact it has on an individual, on children, and on families more generally. The Minister knows this and I know he knows this. You cannot be a fully productive, engaged citizen in this country or anywhere else if your life is bedevilled by precarity, whether it is precarious housing, insecure work or uncertain income. This issue has an impact on our economy. It has an impact on the finances of the family, on health, on education and on the confidence and development of a child. Presiding over this situation shames us all. What is to be done? Many of the measures contained in this motion can go some way towards fixing the problems that we are experiencing in housing in our country.

These are not new problems. There was a failure of regulation in the case I described a couple of moments ago. There are needs, as the motion demands and for which the Labour Party legislation has provided. There is a need for a national car test, NCT, style certification for landlords. Often, the kinds of slums I described earlier are subsidised by the State through the housing assistance payment or rent supplement. We cannot stand over that situation.

The fear of my constituent is ultimately about leaving because she has nowhere else to go. That is the point; she has nowhere else to go. This speaks to a failure of supply and a failure to control rents. She literally has nowhere else to go and no options. I deal with far too many people who have the same experience day in and day out. This leaves people especially vulnerable and exposed. It is a landlords' market and they know it.

Rents in my area, which was one of the early rent pressure zones, are out of control. I cannot tell the Minister the number of absolute dumps I have visited with constituents over the last few years that are now on the market for €1,600 or €1,700 per month. These are two-bedroom apartments and homes that really cannot be described as homes at all.

Efforts to limit rents to the rate of inflation have manifestly failed, although the objective, as articulated by the Minister, was correct and well intentioned. What needs to happen is what this motion and what Deputy Bacik's recent legislation call for, namely, that rents be frozen for the next three years. That is the only immediate solution that will resolve this issue in the short term.

Even if we believed that Housing for All is the optimum solution to all our housing problems and even we believed its ambitions to deliver the kind of supply it has ambitions to deliver over the next period of years, we should use a rent freeze as a bridge over the next two to three years to allow the market to draw its breath and to allow for the kind of supply anticipated through Housing for All to come on stream. That in itself, while it would not fix the problem, would certainly contribute to additional supply and, therefore, a reduction in costs.

It was said earlier that budget 2022 was effectively a non-event for renters. That is shameful given the scale and extent of the problem that renters are experiencing in society.

I will refer to two particular issues in the short time I have left. I am pleased the Minister referred to measures he is considering introducing in respect of tenancies of indefinite duration. That is key. Since the eviction ban was lifted, we have seen an ever-increasing number of people entering homelessness. We know the main reason for homelessness is people exiting the private rental sector for a variety of reasons, for example, use of the home for a wide range of family members. This demands attention and Deputy Bacik's Bill attempts to address it. I hope the Government will adopt that measure as well as demands for tenancies of indefinite duration. Taken together, these steps could resolve many of the issues we experience day in and day out and many of the problems experienced by those we represent.

Finally, I will refer to the language we use around housing. We know there are many ways in which households are formed these days. We should never forget that there are 400,000 single households in this country. We still constantly use the terminology associated with couples and families. There are many different ways to form households these days and there are, as my colleague, Senator Moynihan, repeatedly points out, 400,000 people in this country who live alone for a range of different reasons. We should always be conscious of their concerns, needs and demands when we debate the complexities we face with our housing situation.

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