Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Deputy McAuliffe's amendment. I can say from experience in my constituency that the rent credit has offered a very welcome breathing space to many families, couples and individuals in the midst of cost-of-living challenges. We do not acknowledge that often enough. Many of those availing of it are over the income threshold for social housing and may just not be there yet in terms of saving a deposit or being in a position to apply for a mortgage for homeownership. The tax credit and the recent announcement on increases offer them a buffer and a breathing space in which to save for a deposit.

There was a ramped-up information campaign around the availability of the tax credit. However, I still have constituents coming into my office who are not aware of it, despite social media and print media campaigns. Clearly, we are not reaching certain sectors of society in advertising the availability of the credit. There is a job to do in this regard and the onus is on us, especially those of us in government, to ensure there is awareness around it.

The bigger job for the Government is to tackle rent prices. Rents are incredibly expensive in this country compared with costs internationally. We cannot shy away from or deny that. We just have to deal with it. The way to do so, of course, is via increased housing supply. In recent weeks, we have seen the publication of housing targets that reflect how we are drastically increasing the number of houses coming onto the market. That is how we will tackle rent prices. The more houses there are for rent, the better we can tackle that issue.

I see at first hand in my constituency the difference Housing for All is making to delivery. I will go through the numbers town by town. In Kinsale, in the region of 100 social houses have been delivered and well over 100 private sector homes. People have the keys to those houses and are living in them. In Bandon, approximately 50 social houses and 100 privately built homes have been delivered. In Skibbereen, 50 more social houses have been built, all of which are allocated and occupied, as well as additional private sector houses. It is the same in Bantry and Dunmanway. In my home town of Clonakilty, 120 social houses have been delivered in the past 18 months, with up to 200 built in the private sector. This has made an unbelievable difference to the availability of housing, including access to homeownership, social housing and affordable rental accommodation for those on social housing waiting lists. In essence, people have access to a house for life, payable at an affordable rate based on their income. I am seeing the difference that is making every day in my locality.

These changes are down to the delivery of Housing for All and the implementation of Government measures. We are tackling the issues but things are not perfect, that is for sure. In Clonakilty, I assumed that many of the homes in which people who had been on the social housing waiting lists were living would, on becoming vacant, go straight into the private rental market, thereby making more private rental homes available and reducing rental prices. That has not happened, which is something the Government needs to examine. More than 120 people are now in social homes, most of whom came from the general Clonakilty area and were in private accommodation, perhaps in receipt of HAP. The homes that they vacated, instead of going into the private market, were sold privately. It is clear that many of the landlords, who might have had one or two other properties, did not want to be landlords any more. They wanted to get out of the market and, therefore, they sold up. We need to look at that because of all those homes that should have gone into the private rental market or become available for homeownership, many might now be owned as holiday homes and may not be available for permanent long-term accommodation. That is something we have to tackle.

The rent credit is making a difference. It is giving people breathing space. I look forward to a report in time on how it is making a difference to people.

See this speech in context