Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairman.

What I am looking to do here, conscious of the big challenge and need that so many face at present, is to build more homes and make more rental accommodation available. I appreciate that it is taking time and it will take time for these measures to be felt and to have the effect I want to see. While I accept the evidence is not fast enough for many, we are seeing more and more new homes being built. There were 27,417 new homes commenced up to September. A total of 44,715 homes have planning permission. This is an increase of more than 11% in the number of homes in the same time a year ago. We have seen the number of apartments completed increase by 153%. We have seen more and more social housing being delivered. Of course this is enabled by the €4.5 billion that has been made available by the Government to our local authorities and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to deliver more and more homes. Until August of this year, we saw 16,123 homes purchased by first-time buyers. That is one third of all homes purchased.

I acknowledge, as I make the case about these figures and about more homes being built, that even more homes need to be delivered and that for so many the progress we are delivering is not enough. I acknowledge all of this. I am aware of the human cases Deputies Boyd Barrett and Doherty referred to. I meet these people too. Since the budget was announced, and since the measures in it became clear and have been explained in the Finance Bill, I have met people for whom the rental tax credit will have a positive effect. It will help in the payment of their rent for this year and next year. Of course they tell me they want it to be more and they want the rent tax credit to be increased further. The point I am making is that the measure we are introducing will help and will make a difference. It will help at a time when rents are increasing. The best response to rents increasing is to introduce measures such as the rent credit, which we are making available, and make available more rental accommodation as quickly as we can.

Deputy Doherty made reference to the official advice I receive which pointed to some of the risks and trade-offs with regard to introducing a rental tax credit. He did not make reference to the advice I also received and the documents made available to me that point out the rent freeze he is advocating would have a negative effect on the supply of new rental accommodation. Deputy Doherty will say that in the face of advice such as this, it is up to people to reach their own view on what they think the appropriate policy would be. As Minister, I have the same right to weigh up the various advice put to me and reach a view on what I think is the appropriate course of action. However, if we look at the impact that rent freezes have had in other jurisdictions and other large cities, it points to the fact that over time they do not lead to more rental accommodation being made available. While a rent freeze benefits those who are in properties affected by the rent freeze, the evidence from Berlin, where the measure is no longer in place, and from San Francisco is that there has been a sharp drop in the availability of rental accommodation.

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