Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Rising rents are a frightening experience for tenants. Yesterday, I received an email from a man living in Clonakilty informing me of some steep rent increases that have been imposed on tenants in the last few days in an estate in Clonakilty. They were all informed their rents were rising by 25% and were given three months’ notice to get their heads around this increase. This man and his wife work full-time but they are finding the cost of living very hard to cope with. This added increase in rent, which adds up to €3,000 extra per year, makes it impossible for them to continue in their home. In the middle of a national cost-of-living crisis, there are landlords hiking up the rent and taking advantage of the demand for housing. This man would be very angry but he says he does not have time as he must now try to find somewhere for himself and his wife and children to live. This morning I received an email from a man asking for my help as he has nowhere to live in west Cork and is staying in his car. Unfortunately, that is what I find at my clinics every Friday, Saturday and Monday. It is the same crisis. People say they have not anywhere to stay and they are staying in their cars. As I said, at clinics I have families coming in to me begging for help with rent, HAP, accommodation and housing.

Those lucky enough to get this once-off, farcical planning permission, given the way things are gone, are then left with the building costs that are crippling Ireland. The price of materials is crippling everyone and even if the client can pay it is hard to get your hands on the materials. The Government stands by and issues press release after press release and statements that come one after the other on what is being done to fix the housing crisis in Ireland. It would do well to remember every policy taken so far has failed. This is why we are where we are today. The unfortunate thing I find in my constituency is so many people getting eviction letters. I do not want to tar every landlord with the one brush because some of them are very good and have been very fair to tenants down through the years. However, there is a crisis out there and it must be addressed.

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