Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Under the watch of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, what has happened to the average rents?

That is for existing rents. The increase for new rents is actually way higher than that. It is the same across the State. The tax credit the Minister is providing is going into the pockets of the landlords but I suspect he knew that all along. It is just another way to feather the nests of landlords. One of the things the Minister, Deputy Chambers, did not mention in his speech is the fact that he is giving a tax break of €112 million to landlords this year as their tax breaks increase from €600 to €800. Every single official in his Department told him this was a bad idea and said that half of the landlords in the State will not pay tax under this proposal. It again shows the priorities of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in this area.

This Government has made a lot of sound about the issue of childcare-----

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