Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister is aware, data from the latest homeless quarterly progress report on the scale of homelessness clearly shows there were 16,734 individuals accessing emergency accommodation at the end of quarter 4 of 2025. This was an increase of 120 individuals on the position at the end of quarter 3 of 2025. There was an increase of 1,870 on the total recorded at the end of quarter 4 of 2024. There were 2,478 families accessing emergency accommodation at the end of quarter 4 of 2025, which was an increase of 35 families on the position at the end of quarter 3 of 2025 and an increase of 386 families on the total recorded at the end of quarter 4 of 2024.

On top of all of this chaos, we now have new residential tenancy rules and the mass exodus of many small landlords from the housing system. I have met many of these small property owners. They were all people who worked hard, contributed to our economy, paid their taxes and decided to buy a small property, which they rented. I know from my own constituency that in many cases, the arrangement with their tenants worked quite well. I am now hearing from tenants who are coming to me in floods of tears that landlords are forced to sell because of the Government's genius new laws. I condemn those laws because the Government is making a bad situation worse. It shows that Government parties are shifting further to the left. In fact, they are becoming more left than the left themselves. The Government has absolutely no right to dictate to citizens of this country what they should do with their own private assets that they worked hard for, bought and paid for. The Government has absolutely no such right. If that is not from the left-wing playbook, I do not know what is. The Government is certainly making a bad situation worse. I am calling for those laws to be reviewed. I have met many property owners who have told me that they were Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil voters but are disgusted with this behaviour and the way they are being treated. I call for those laws to be reversed.

I have repeatedly spoken of my concerns around the laws and the growing fear that while in theory safeguards may be in place, in practice, the cure may be worse than the disease. Perhaps if the Government were to hit the top and the vulture funds instead of small property owners, it might make more sense and we might get more solutions and progress. Perhaps that would be the way to proceed.

All of that, of course, is at the macro level. We can see cases at the individual level and it is only when we see those cases that we can truly gauge the ineffectiveness of the so-called reforms and the harm that continues to be done to families. I am continuing to deal with a constituent who through no fault or desire of his own was forced to sell his home. He did so because he is now locked in a battle to get planning permission for another home as he already made use of the rule allowing a build if you have a local connection.

I established, through a series of parliamentary questions last month, that there are massive delays in the registration process within Tailte Éireann. I have repeatedly contacted Tailte Éireann. It is not acceptable. The organisation is totally ineffective and needs to be overhauled quickly. If the Government is serious about making progress, it needs to ensure that Tailte Éireann is doing its job. From what I can see, it is failing. Indeed, the data provided to me confirms a rapid and exponential build-up in property registration delays in recent years, with the 2025 figure alone showing over 57,000 applications still pending from that year's lodgements. Surely this can be called out. Surely the Government Ministers can get a grip on that as soon as possible.

The total arrears across all years now exceeds 90,000, highlighting a massive accumulation that has built up despite efforts to address it. This data underscores the overwhelming scale of the challenge. Applications have grown, year on year, outpacing earlier resourcing and leading to this backlog. This backlog has escalated dramatically in the past few years, potentially impacting property transactions, agricultural transactions, conveyancing and housing market efficiency across Ireland. This highlights the urgency of ongoing efforts to clear applications and prevent further escalation and delays.

I was also able to establish, through another series of parliamentary questions in the past few weeks, that the so-called deemed disposal rule is adversely impacting housing. I know the Business Post carried an article on the issue last week. I placed the questions primarily because the issue was raised with me by a number of concerned constituents who feel that the current rules are overly complex and out of kilter with other EU member states. My constituents are also of the view that as currently drafted, the deemed disposal rule is contributing to a hoarding of property by ensuring that people keep what capital they have firmly locked into residential property. This keeps houses off the market and contributes to pent-up demand and inflated rents. I am asking the Government to perform some basic joined-up thinking on this issue. If we are serious about tackling the housing crisis, we must get under the taxation bonnet and properly assess what aspects of the taxation regime can be changed to facilitate greater supply while also allowing people to maximise their investments and returns. By that I mean private Irish citizens who have contributed to this economy, paid taxes and worked hard. They deserve respect and fair play.

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