Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

No matter what way you dice or splice those numbers there is significant under-claiming for this, which I hope will change. There are 800,000 renters in total. I am sure the Minister has the numbers on how many renters have actually applied for this because every unit has to state whether it is for an individual or a couple. The reality is that even if all the 800,000 renters were couples there would be 400,000 claims and we have not got to that point. That is a problem. That is not the main point, though. I will say to Deputy McAuliffe that he is right. The Government has plenty of ideas. What I meant to say was ideas that work. That is what I meant. You have plenty of ideas. You have legislated for them and brought them in. You have heard outside experts saying they will push up house prices and you batter on anyway. Lo and behold, since this Government came into office an average house costs €70,000 more than it did three and half years ago. There is €5,500 extra on an average rent compared to before. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are not out of ideas. There are plenty of ideas. This is why you are making the situation worse. You are bringing forward proposals that actually make things worse. The first thing should be to do no more harm. Many of the issues we discussed previously during the Finance Bill, and we might repeat some of them today, are initiatives that actually increase house prices. This is not just being said by Sinn Féin; the Department has said it. Outside experts have said it. This is the fact but you batter on. We have to question the motivation. Is it that the priority here is for developers and landlords? This legislation here provides more for landlords than it does for renters. One of the biggest reasons for child homelessness is that rents are going through the roof and families cannot afford them. That is why more children will spend Christmas this year in emergency accommodation. Deputies opposite can take to their feet and tell the Minister how great things are and how it is working. I live in the real world. It is not working for ordinary people. It might be working for landlords and developers but it is not working for ordinary people.

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