Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I pose the question and, obviously, the Bill poses the question: what is wrong with rent control?

What is wrong with making rent, in relative terms, affordable for renters? What is wrong with stopping the market-led approach that has led to spiralling rents? Thanks to spiralling rents, we now have a generation that is not only locked out but is turning to emigration. Many young people now are looking at the alternatives. They cannot find a place to rent and are faced with the possibility of having to emigrate. That is not a good thing. These people are well educated and want to play a role in this society, but because of the current situation, they are being forced to leave their home.

We are facing a crazy situation. In Dublin Mid-West, for example, hundreds of people will turn up to view one house. This is not an isolated situation but is happening right across the country. Prospective tenants who are accessing the housing assistance payment, HAP, can forget about it. They will not get near any available house. In fact, even if they are accessing homeless HAP, their chances of getting a house are extremely slim. If they do manage to get a house, they are facing the prospect of paying a top-up. It can be seen how the rental situation is both spiralling and inflationary.

A number of weeks ago a two-bedroom apartment in Lucan became available for €2,300 per month, but because there was so much demand, the people who owned it increased the price by €150. How can that be justified? That is an incredible amount of money. People simply cannot afford these prices. They are being set aside and humiliated, in some ways, in terms of getting access to homes.

The situation the country finds itself in is related to Government policy, which has led to a lack of public and affordable homes and a lack of rental accommodation. This situation is down to policy. There is a reason for everything. The reason we have such a dire housing situation, with 11,000 people in emergency accommodation, is Government policy. It is not some sort of natural phenomenon. It is the result of the policies of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, particularly the former which has been in power for the past 12 years. Fine Gael has overseen this disaster. If Government was a business, Fine Gael would be thrown out of business.

The system is broken, not only for renters but also for those on the council waiting lists and those who want to buy. Rents in Dublin and across the country are spiralling out of control. What is wrong with controlling rents? The rent pressure zones are only cosmetic. We need proper rent control, as happens in other countries and other cities. Others have introduced rent controls because they know that if the rental sector is market led, property owners will seek to maximise profit. There is nothing radical about rent control. Indeed, it is quite rudimentary and mainstream. It is about controlling rents in certain areas so that they are reasonable and affordable. It is about ensuring corporate and individual landlords do not completely profiteer from housing. If we allow the market-led approach to continue, the situation across the country will persist, not only for renters but for everybody across the board.

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