Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----and then what was said is wildly represented.

The leader of Sinn Féin said I have "announced". I did not announce anything, but I will park that for a moment. The misrepresentation goes on and on and the bottom line is that it is two weeks since I was elected Taoiseach. I have not spoken to IRES REIT or any others that Deputy McDonald announced I have. I have spoken to officials in my Department and in the Department of housing. I do not know whether the Deputy has been paying attention, but I take it she knows that the Department of housing last year commissioned The Housing Agency. It did a review of the rent pressure zones, RPZs and asked the Housing Agency to conduct a specific review of them. I presume the Deputy knew that or else she is not paying attention and this is all a charade. The reason it did so was that it wants to analyse them. Deputy Ó Broin said in May last year that the rent pressure zones are broken. That is what he said. The Housing Agency is due to report by the end of the first quarter of this year. As we know, the legislation that gave rise to the RPZs is due to expire at the end of 2025. As I said to RTÉ, there are a number of options. They can be extended or reformed in line with The Housing Commission recommendations.

I recall Deputy McDonald, Deputy Bacik and others saying the Government had ignored The Housing Commission, that it had treated The Housing Commission shabbily and did not give proper room for debate. I remember asking whether they had read the chapter on rent. The Housing Commission, which went through all aspects of housing, focused on a German system of reference pricing. I am not saying we will go with that but The Housing Commission asked that we examine it in an evidence-based and informed way. That should happen.

We should examine things rationally and with substance and not engage in the sloganeering I have heard in the past few days. I heard it yesterday evening as well, that this is about lobbyists, connections. That is the sum total of what Sinn Féin can contribute to what is a very important debate. The State is committing more than it ever has to housing. In 2025, the budget earmarked for housing is €6 billion. General estimates from the Department of Finance and The Housing Commission say that to get to 50,000 or 60,000 units, we need approximately €20 billion. I take it Sinn Féin accepts the State will not be in a position to come up with €20 billion for housing so there has to be a balance between State investment, which is at its highest ever level and will continue, and private sector investment. It is clear that brownfield sites have not taken off. That is very evident. For sustainability reasons and so on, it is an objective of Government and of the spatial plan that we develop brownfield sites.

The Government brought in protections for renters and will continue to protect renters. We brought in the rent tax credit to help renters in a very high rent environment. We acknowledge that.

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