Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Is mór agam an deis seo labhairt ar an mBille seo agus ar na himpleachtaí a bheidh ag baint leis do thionóntaí ar fud na tíre agus an éifeacht a bheidh aige ar mhargadh na gcíosanna. Gan amhras, tá an géarchéim thithíochta ar cheann de na géarchéimeanna is mór atá os comhair na tíre faoi láthair. Tá sé in am dúinn féachaint ar gach uile réiteach is féidir linn a chur i gcrích le cinntiú go rachaidh muid i ngleic léi. Is é an rud is tábhachtaí le cuimhneamh faoi seo ná nach bhfuil aon réiteach amháin uirthi seo. Is iomaí aghaidh atá ag an ngéarchéim thithíochta faoi láthair, lena n-airítear daoine gan dídean, cíosanna arda agus daoine nach bhfuil in ann teach a cheannach agus a leithéid. Caithfear réitigh a dhearadh a rachaidh i ngleic leis na himpleachtaí agus gnéithe na faidhbe seo faoi mar atá siad faoi láthair.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on this legislation and I welcome the fact that across the House there is general consensus on the need to expand the RPZs to the entire country, which is the purpose of this Bill in the first instance. It is also helpful to look at this Bill in the context of the wider reforms that it forms part of. I am sure that in our clinics all of us hear on a daily and weekly basis of people who are struggling with the rental market here, whether that is on the basis of the cost of rent or, more so, in the past few months, of supply. People are telling us they cannot get access to rental accommodation because the supply does not exist in the market. Despite the fact that we have now rolled cost-rental schemes and more social homes are being built, there is still a role for the private sector, both institutional investors and smaller landlords, across the market to ensure they have incentives in the market to maintain their properties. This is not just me saying it; it is the ESRI saying it, that while there has been a moderation in rent increases over time, the incentives for people to maintain properties in the market is not there, especially since 2021, and should be required in the future.

On what the Government needs to do to address this issue, there are two sides to the story. There is obviously the case to protect existing tenants. That is why the extension of the RPZs to the entire country is a welcome move to ensure that those pieces are put in place. I should also mention the protections my colleague, Deputy Ardagh, referred to such as no-fault evictions and so on.

There are also people who do not have access to rental yet, because the supply is not there. The only way to encourage supply, from small landlords and institutional investors, is to create a situation where they can at least break even on the properties they are making available. Where the 2% rate falls below the inflation rate, it is not one where the incentive is created or necessary. This was also found in the Housing Agency's review of this matter published a number of weeks ago. The paper by Dr. Tom Gillespie of Trinity College found that the rental supply has contracted since the expansion of the RPZs in 2021 and that this needs to be addressed in light of any modified rental assistance that is put in place. It is important that this is done now at the start of the lifetime of the Government because we need to get these reforms put in place to create the incentives to increase supply.

We need to reflect on Housing for All. The disappointing figures for the past year are not the only reflection of it. If we take the sum total of the houses that were delivered on target under Housing for All, we exceeded those targets over the lifetime of the plan. It is important to remember that as well.

This rental reform will work. It will protect tenants. It will allow for the reset of rents between tenancies to make sure that the incentive remains for people to provide more accommodation and it will lead to the converse of what was seen immediately after 2021, where there was an increase in the number of houses being put up for sale, as opposed houses being made available for rent. When we talk about pulling the ladder up after ourselves, we should be very conscious of the fact that there are many people who cannot get on to the ladder at all, because the supply is not there. It falls to us that we create the incentive for that supply to be put in place.

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