Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

None of what the Minister said addressed the core question I asked. What is the plan to deal with the disorderly exit of semi-professional and accidental landlords from the market, something that has been in train for three years and will more than likely continue for four years? The argument that supply will tackle the problem simply does not add up. The Government's housing plan promises 6,500 new private rental homes, a target that will probably be reached around 2025 or 2026. However, we are losing 7,000 units a year. Therefore, it would take the Government three years to catch up the current loss and it would still be behind. If the Government reaches these targets, and the loss of properties to the market continues, the situation will continue to get worse. Sherry FitzGerald made it clear today that there are three times more exits from the private rental sector than there are entries to it. There are a range of strategies and actions that I and others have been urging the Minister to take but, like his predecessor, he has ignored them. What specifically will he do to slow the exit of these landlords from the private rental sector and tackle rising levels of family homelessness?

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