Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have just set out what is the reality for so many people.

This is now beyond crisis mode. People are paying €640 per month for a bunk bed sharing with three other people in a small bedroom. That is four people in one room. Where does this end? Where does this stop? At what point does reality dawn and do we see the necessary actions? The Taoiseach has set out what the Government has done under its plan, Housing for All. It is not working; ask any renter or anyone out there who lives in the real world and they will tell him the magnitude of his failure because they live it every single day.

I put it to the Taoiseach again that he needs to do three things. First, he needs to effectively cut rent by putting a month's rent back in every renter's pocket by means of a refundable tax credit. Second, he needs to ensure there are no further rent hikes. The rent pressure zones are not delivering that at all. Third, and I would like him to address this point in particular, the eviction ban must be extended to the end of the year. If it is not extended, not alone will we have these still soaring, disgraceful, rack-rents, but we will have a further surge in homeless which would be an intolerable situation.

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