Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)

We can all agree that certainty, clarity and consistency are needed for those renting, those looking to buy a home and those looking to build and develop homes.

That is precisely what is lacking in the Taoiseach's own Government's policy. He is accusing the Opposition of being caught out but he has caught out his own backbenchers. He has flip-flopped on policy on rent pressure zones, RPZ, and protections for renters. None of us can see how he can say there will be increased protections for renters. Sure, the Government is extending the RPZs but if it is hollowing out what is meant by an RPZ and reducing protections for those within them, then that does not have the desired effect.

Again, renters are desperately fearful. One thing that has not been mentioned is the idea of tying rent caps to inflation which Government is proposing for new builds. This lacks foresight. There is huge uncertainty here, particularly in the face of Trump's threatened tariffs and the impact they are likely to have on inflation. What we are going to see, I think, is that this will gut the net benefit of the Taoiseach's stated objective, which is to increase supply. We all want to see supply increase but we do not believe this is an effective way to do it.

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