Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

According to daft.ie, just 17 houses are available to rent in the entire county of Tiobraid Árann today, with just one property available to rent in the largest town, Cluain Meala, a one-bedroom apartment. There are currently 3,521 people on approved housing lists waiting for housing in Tiobraid Árann. Rents in the county were on average 7.7% higher in the final three months of 2020 than they had been one year previously. The national average listed rent is now €908, up 61% from its lowest point. The property rental crisis is now at its worst point in more than a decade, with so limited a supply of housing. Tipperary County Council - agus gabhaim buíochas leo siúd atá ag obair air seo - is meeting its Rebuilding Ireland targets for 2021 and is expected to exceed its targets this year, but that is simply not sufficient to meet the demand.

Tipperary County Council delivered 840 units between 2018 and 2021 and aims to meet its new-build target of 230 units between now and the year end. Unfortunately, these targets will go nowhere near to address the acute problem that is there.

My office and, indeed, many other offices are inundated with people desperately seeking housing. Gabhaim buíochas leis na daoine ag obair i m’oifig féin freisin. People are desperate. These are families who are currently living in homes where the landlord is selling up and they cannot find alternative accommodation, applicants approved for housing but who cannot find accommodation under the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme, returning Irish emigrants who cannot find accommodation in their local areas to rent or buy and young couples - this is a big bone of contention - who have sites but who are being refused planning permission and cannot find accommodation to rent or buy either.

There is also a serious disconnect in respect of the current income limits to qualify for social housing in Tiobraid Árann. The Tipperary County Council cap is €25,000 for a single person and €27,500 for an average family of two adults and two children - a figure that has not been reviewed since 2011. I am calling on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, the Taoiseach and the Cabinet to review this immediately. It is causing a considerable problem, especially when we see that an average four-bedroom house in the county costs approximately €2,100 per month to rent, meaning that a family with an income of €28,000 is expected to pay 51% of their income on rent without any assistance. Tá sé sin uafásach ar fad. In the face of the significant increase in rent in the county and across the country, as well as the considerable increases in the cost of living, these limits are wholly inappropriate and need to be reviewed urgently. I reiterate I am calling on the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and on the Government as a whole, to act here. We keep talking and having aspirations and good intentions but they are not being delivered. People cannot afford or they cannot get HAP. There are people sleeping in tents beside the River Suir in the beautiful Cluain Meala and I meet them on the street. I am sure other Deputies also do so in all the counties. The policies that the Government has, with not cutting timber and the insulation costs as a result of oil prices and carbon taxes, are driving up the cost of building. We are in a perfect storm. We need action and we need it now.

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