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

I have repeatedly called for four key policies. The Minister knows them but I will repeat them again. The first is to end the prohibition on local authorities buying properties with housing assistance payment, HAP, or rental accommodation scheme, RAS, tenants in situ when the landlord is selling. Many landlords who are leaving the market would be delighted for the local authority to purchase the property but the Government will not allow local authorities to purchase them with a sitting tenant. That is driving family homelessness and making the situation worse.

The second key policy is to allow buy-to-let landlords who availed of tax reliefs from the State at an earlier stage to sell the tenant with the tenant in situ. They got a break from the State and the return should be to sell to other landlords. Third, we have repeatedly called for tax reform for landlords. It is not acceptable that real estate investment trusts and large institutional landlords pay no tax, whereas many accidental and semi-permanent landlords pay very high rates.

We have not called for the commission of a report. What we have called for is much more specific. We want the Residential Tenancies Board and the Housing Agency to bring their expertise to bear on Government, which is clearly lacking, to produce a strategy, with the Government and Opposition, to stop the disorderly exit.

We have outlined our proposals. Does the Government have any proposals? What is its plan to stop this crisis?

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