Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá tuarascáil eile foilsithe inniu a thaispeánann an teip iomlán ar pholasaí tithíochta an Rialtais. Taispeánann sé go gcaithfidh an Rialtas cosc a chur ar arduithe cíosa, cíos míosa a chur ar ais i bpócaí íocóirí cíosa na tíre seo agus tithe sóisialta agus tithe ar phraghas réasúnta a thógáil ar scála.

Today there is another report that shows the disaster of the housing plan. It is a plan that now lies in tatters, with renters being fleeced and rents double-digit increases in counties right across the State. In case the Minister is not aware, since he took office and in the last four years, rents have increased by 30%. What does that mean for the average renter? It means that the average new renter has to fork out an additional €4,500 to the landlord each year, compared to when the Minister took office. It is not just new tenants who are seeing massive hikes in rent. It is also existing tenants.

The crisis is impacting renters in every county across the State. In Donegal, rents for new tenancies have gone up by a staggering 23% in a single year. In County Clare, they have gone up by 19%. In Wexford, there has been a shocking 24% increase in the past year for new rents. Today's report from the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, shows that rents are continuing to spiral out of control, with new rents increasing by an average of 11% across the State. Is it any wonder that so many of our young people have to leave their homes and families for better opportunities elsewhere? The Government’s housing crisis is putting huge pressure on workers, families and young people. The rental sector is clearly in a crisis and the renters are the victims. This is happening under the watch of the Minister and the Government.

The Minister continues to say, and we have heard Members of Government tell us, they have turned a corner in relation to the housing crisis, but renters have reached a dead end. Renters have reached a dead end. In these reports, we can see the real lived experience year after year in relation to what is happening. Things are going from bad to worse.

I am sure that in his response the Minister will speak about the 2% cap on rents in rent pressure zones, but existing rents have increased by more than 5% in 19 counties, including in Dublin where they are more than 4%. This sharp increase provides growing evidence that landlords are breaching the 2% cap on rent increases.

Does the Minister believe that landlords are breaching the 2% cap on rent pressure zones? If so, what is he going to do about it? He has done nothing so far. Workers and families desperately need relief. Those who are renting are trapped in an unaffordable rental system, while workers and families should qualify for social and affordable housing. However, those supports are also stuck in the private rental sector, putting more pressure on the system.

Sinn Féin’s solutions are twofold. First, we would protect renters by banning further rent increases for a period of at least three years, while putting one month’s rent back into renters’ pockets. Second, we would dramatically increase the supply of social, affordable and cost-rental homes. The fact is that the Government is not meeting its own abysmally low targets for council houses, cost-rental homes and affordable homes and these are targets that everybody knows are far too low to begin with.

I ask the Minister if the penny has finally dropped in Government Buildings? There has been yet another damning report from the RTB that the Government’s housing plan is failing renters. Does the Minister agree that we need to protect renters and ban further rent increases for a period of at least three years? Does he agree that the Government is failing to meet its housing targets for social, affordable and cost-rental homes, and that those targets need to be significantly increased and delivered on? Will he support Sinn Féin’s solution to protect renters and increase supply? Will he ban rent increases for the next three years?

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