Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleague Deputy Eoin Ó Broin for introducing this Bill and for all the work he does in this area. I hope the Minister will take the time over Christmas to really acquaint himself with the solutions to the crisis we are dealing with. That is what this is. It is effectively an emergency response to a crisis.

The Bill seeks to change the law so that ordinary workers, families and children cannot be evicted when they have done nothing wrong. Through no fault of their own people are being evicted. The Minister knows that this is happening. This is happening in the Minister's own area. I know this because it is my area and they are coming to me looking for help. The Minister knows it because I am sure he is also receiving emails. I am seeing people in my constituency offices and the fear they have around eviction is very real. They are worried and panicked because there is nowhere for them to go. As an Teachta Ó Broin has outlined, the Minister has failed to hit his targets on social and affordable housing. The end result of this is that people in the private rental sector are nervous and anxious because there is nowhere for them to go when they get that notice to quit.

Last week in this Chamber I spoke about how rents had increased across north County Dublin from €1,762 per month to €2,158 per month since the Minister's Government was elected. I also pointed out that not only has the cost of renting exploded under this Government but the available housing stock to rent has also plummeted. Today there are 351 properties on Daft.ie for long-term rent in north County Dublin. That is 355 properties to rent in a local authority area with 330,506 people in it. This situation is really desperate and despite what the Minister says, and says again, it is only getting worse. This proposed legislation is an emergency response to a crisis situation. An Teachta Ó Broin has outlined in detail how we can and should do this. We can act quickly, we can be nimble and we can do this. The Minister's Government are not opposing this legislation but they need to support it and ensure it becomes law in the manner outlined to avert a crisis for many families.

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