Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank People Before Profit for the Bill bringing forward We agree it should proceed to Committee Stage and we, of course, support the principle of reducing rents in the private rental sector. There are issues to be teased out in committee but I urge the Government to allow the Bill to proceed.

Rents in Cork in the first quarter of this year were more than 10% higher than in the same period in 2021, with the average rent in the county up 111% from its lowest point. This is scandalous and it makes it extremely difficult for individuals and families to cope. In Cork city, rents have risen by 10.2% in the past year, with the average rent now €1,607 per month. How are ordinary workers and families supposed to survive and manage with rents like these? It is shocking that the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Cork city currently stands at €1,112 per month. Is it any wonder that young people are considering whether they will stay here or how they can make a life here? The cost of renting a single room in Cork city centre is now €516 a month, on average, which is up 2.4%, with an increase of 10.6%, bringing the cost to €479 per month, in Cork commuter towns.

My generation of young people are locked into a permanent trap whereby they cannot afford either to rent or buy. This cannot continue. Renters need immediate support because people are being put to the pin of their collar. The Government is not putting forward serious solutions to solving the housing crisis. It is not committed to providing affordable rents for ordinary workers and families. Sinn Féin wants a three-year ban on rent increases and a month's rent put back in every private renter's pocket. We would combine this with the delivery, crucially, of 4,000 affordable cost rental units. The social housing thresholds, which have not been updated since 2011, must be raised. The cost of everything has gone up since then. Many people are being cut off by the thresholds, which I have raised with both the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan. Many people on modest incomes are being pushed off the list, even when they have been on it for ten or 11 years. They are losing that time, which is like money in the bank to those families. They are being cut off and put at a loss.

The Government does not have the ambition to solve the housing crisis. Sinn Féin has the solution that will provide affordable cost rental homes to ordinary workers and families in Cork and across the country.

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