Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

We are not creating a free-for-all in terms of the rental market more generally. We are creating a national rent pressure zone, ultimately including the entire country. The bottom line is that we need more supply of houses. We need a significant and substantial increase in the supply of housing. That is the key. Without additional supply we will have a very challenging rental market. The Deputy indicated a case of 50%, which sounds illegal to me. I do not know whether or not the landlord is registered with the RTB. I do not have the specifics of the case but Deputy Stanley can forward them to us afterwards.

As the Deputy is aware, the bottom line is that we have reformed the RPZs. The objective there is to create the opportunity for greater private sector investment in the private rental market to get more apartments built. That is important in terms of choice and greater access for people to apartments. We have done it in a way that continues to protect tenants. Very substantial protections have been introduced for tenants in the past five years, compared to what was there before. That must be acknowledged. I fully accept that costs are high. That is why we brought in the rent tax credit to be of assistance to renters in meeting the increased cost of renting. The reforms we announced on 10 June will strengthen the rights of new and existing tenants in Irish society. It is not a return to a free for all.

The reforms were informed by a review by the Housing Agency, which did an analysis of the rental market for us, in particular of the rent pressure zones. The agency made recommendations on which we followed through on. All of the House wanted us to follow through on the Housing Commission's recommendations. It is in that context that the Housing Agency review followed through on them. There is a national cap now of 2% on existing rents. I do not know how one can go up by 50% but Deputy Stanley can forward me the details of that case. The rent tax credit has been continued. We will deal with that in the forthcoming budget also. We have provided a range of measures to ensure security for renters. I will not go through the full list of those.

This year alone, on top of the Estimate for 2025, we have allocated a further €1 billion to the housing budget. Approximately €7.5 billion will have been spent on housing by the end of 2025. That is a very significant State intervention. We need more private sector investment in the rental market, in particular to build new apartments. We have taken measures, not just in the RPZs but also with apartment standards and other issues to attract further investment in on the private side to balance the State investment.

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