Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

According to Daft.ie, new rents in the past three months of 2022 were 13.7% higher than in the same period in 2021. Rents have increased to an average of €1,733 compared with an average rent in 2011 of €765. It is incredible that since Fine Gael took office in 2011, we have seen an increase in rents of 126%. The Taoiseach, his Government and his party have left a massive legacy to tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people who are struggling to pay rent. In my office, I see on a weekly basis people who have to migrate westwards - people who are leaving Dublin to live in Ashbourne, then move to Cavan and then move on to Leitrim because they cannot afford the rents. They are surfing a wave of rent affordability across the country. It is incredible that local authorities are only now looking at ways to identify vacant homes for the vacant home tax. Will the Taoiseach tell us when the vacant home tax be put in place?

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