Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank People Before Profit for tabling this motion. Reducing rents in the private rental sector should be central to the Government's aims but it seems that a continuation of pro-developer subsidies is the main concern. The option of renting is impossible for more and more people. The latest report from daft.ie states that rents increased by 11.7% across the State in one year, from the first quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022. In my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, rents increased by 18.6% in Cavan and 12.6% in Monaghan in the same period. The number of evictions has risen dramatically since the start of the year. My constituency office has been inundated with people who are extremely distressed and have few or no options open to them because there are very limited options in the private rental market. Many of these are housing assistance payment, HAP, tenants, but the maximum HAP that can be received in Cavan is €490, for a couple or individual with three children. The council is not even sanctioning that, because the rents are too high, making it unsustainable for renters to pay the remainder of the rent, since it would drive them into poverty. Renters then go to the landlords to ask them to declare a lower rent so that they can claim HAP and pay the difference in cash. It is unbelievable and driving people into poverty.

Middle-income families are even worse off because they do not qualify for any sort of housing support. I agree with my colleague that the social housing thresholds must be raised. They have not been updated since 2011. It would give further relief to those close to the current thresholds who are unable to access social housing or housing supports. Sinn Féin tabled a proposal similar to this in May. We proposed a three-year ban on rent increases and linking rents to an appropriate index, such as wages, along with a refundable tax credit to put a month's rent back into private renters' pockets. Action needs to be taken now to address the rental crisis. It can be done. It just requires political will. This Government does not have that political will, let alone a plan.

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