Dáil debates

Wednesday, 4 May 2022

Rising Rental Costs: Motion [Private Members]

 

8:40 pm

Photo of Thomas PringleThomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Sinn Féin for the opportunity to speak on this motion today, or maybe it is more accurate to thank the party for the opportunity to shout into the void once again because that is truly what it feels like trying to have a discussion on this topic with this Government and, to be honest, with all previous Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments, which have, unfortunately, allowed rents to soar exponentially over the past decade. However, we are truly at a crisis now and I cannot stress enough the urgency of the matter.

The situation for renters is truly shocking at present. Failed housing policies have created generation rent, who do not have the option to buy their own home and, as a result, are being forced into the rental sector. With a significant reduction in rental properties available and with the price of those few properties skyrocketing, people have been left abandoned with literally nowhere to go. It is clear the Government's two recent rent caps are not working. None of the Government's policies are working. How many different ways must this be pointed out before it is finally accepted?

We have had discussion after discussion in this House, stating the same over and over again, but nothing seems to be getting through and the people are starting to lose hope. We have watched rent report after rent report come out over recent months outlining the exact same sad reality: rent is rising, Government policy is not working and something needs to be done now.

The latest report, the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, rent index mentioned in this motion, shows new rents have increased by 9% State-wide in the last three months of 2021. The index showed that, in my constituency of Donegal, rents for new tenancies have increased by a massive 16.6%. We have seen the recent daft.iereport which showed that overall rents increased in Donegal by an astonishing 24.3%, the highest rise in rent nationally.

Week after week I have people in my constituency office in dire situations, unable to afford to buy but unable to find the rent either. I have seen families unable to meet the rising costs of living and struggling to hold on to their homes. I have seen young people forced to put their life on hold, with many not seeing any hope of ever living independently in the foreseeable future. I have seen people nearing retirement age, worried about how they will continue to make rent payments once they take a dip in income. I have seen mica families paying mortgages on crumbling houses while trying to come up with rent money on top of this. Yet we see that Airbnb has grown exponentially in the county. Nothing has been done with enforcement so that Airbnb properties will be rental properties for citizens.

As a board member of the North West Simon Community, I have seen, sadly, the shocking rise of homelessness in my region, which does not even take into account the incredible number of those in hidden homelessness across Donegal. In a single week in March, 97 individuals in the north west were provided with emergency accommodation. This included 62 single adults and 13 families comprising 15 adults and 20 child dependants. These are only the people who come to the service. I am not talking about those who are couch surfing or anything like that who are not included in any of the figures the Government talks about.

There is no justifying the situation. No child should ever have to face homelessness. The State has failed these families. We should all feel ashamed when hearing these statistics because the truth is these are not just statistics; this is real life and real people. They should be treated with respect and with dignity and not as another number on yet another homelessness report.

Where is the compassion of this Government? Where is the empathy for our constituents who are literally pleading for help? It gives me no joy to stand here and relay these stories and statistics to the Minister of State. It should not have to be done. The people of Donegal and Ireland deserve so much better than this. We should not have to do it repeatedly before it will sink in.

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