Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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5. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the measures his Government is putting in place to deal with the problem of escalating rents in the private rental sector. [38589/15]

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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My question relates to the crisis in the private rental sector of the numbers becoming homeless and the families that are being squeezed out of private rented accommodation because of the lack of action on rent certainty or rent controls. We just discussed housing waiting lists. They are being added to by the day because, unlike other states, we do not have effective rent controls.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy. A shortage of supply is at the heart of rising rents and the Government is addressing it on a number of fronts. Construction 2020 is aimed at dealing with issues in the property and construction sectors and ensuring that any bottleneck that might impede the sector in meeting demand is addressed. It is being worked through constantly. As the House knows, social housing has been prioritised by the Government, with more than €1.7 billion in Exchequer and local authority self-funding allocated to the social housing strategy between the 2015 and 2016 budgets to support the provision of more than 33,000 units. The €4 billion social housing package for the entire country is the largest in the history of the State. More than 200 sites are being developed.

The key to addressing upward pressure on rents is an increase in the supply of public and private housing. In 2014, the number of house completions was 11,016 nationally, an increase of 33% on the 2013 figure. The latest figures for new house completions show that 8,914 units were completed to the end of September 2015, up 14% on the corresponding figure for 2014. As announced in budget 2016, NAMA aims to deliver a target of 20,000 residential units before the end of 2020, with 90% of these to be in the greater Dublin area. This will be a positive contribution.

In addition to these measures, I continue to work on proposals that address the issue of rising rents. The level of increases in rent, particularly in the greater Dublin area and, to a lesser extent, Cork and Galway, presents a serious challenge. Any decision on this issue is a matter for the Government and it is my intention to bring proposals to same in the near future.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for his reply but he sidestepped my question to some extent in that he blamed the problem of rising rents on supply. There is a plentiful supply of houses in County Laois where I live, given the number of properties lying vacant despite being value for money. The same applies in south County Kildare. I remind the Minister that rents did not collapse during the property boom when we were building 90,000 houses per year. In fact, they increased.

The flood of people becoming homeless has turned into a torrent. Many are being squeezed out. Rents have increased by more than 35% since the Government entered office. The Labour Party Minister reduced the threshold-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I am sorry but will the Deputy put a question, please? He has four seconds left.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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-----for rent allowance as well as the amount of rent supplement. What effective measures will be taken? There are two problems, those being, the threshold for rent supplement, which-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I am sorry but other Deputies are waiting to ask their questions.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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-----is too low, and the amount of rent allowance that is made available. What effective measures will be taken to stem the tide?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask Members to stick to their time. It is unfair to other Deputies who come to the Chamber in the hope that they will be able to have their ordinary questions answered if too much time is taken up by Priority Questions.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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It was strange to remark that supply was not the issue. Of course it is. If there is enough supply, people have options in the market and rents will not be as high. In the long term, the most important issue is private and public supply. We just discussed the social housing programme in detail. The €4 billion package will take fours year to implement but it will help with supply. Construction is the only sector in the country that has not repaired itself. Once it has undergone that process, there will also be supply on the private side but it will take more time. The Government is considering a number of measures to address the lag in supply that will exist in the coming years. However, there are some-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I am sorry but we have gone over time. I will allow the Minister back in later.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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A recent Simon Communities survey found that no house was available for rent in the Portlaoise area within the rent limits set by the Government.

Those are the facts. Some 90% of rents are above the limits set across the State and there is no house for rent in the Portlaoise area within those limits. The limit for a family of four is €480, with a portion allocated as rent allowance, depending on income. I checked those limits again this morning.

It seems like there is a blockage by vested interests. There have been widespread reports of the Minister and his Fine Gael colleague in Cabinet having a head-to-head on this.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Would you mind putting a question, please?

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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There has been talk of Kalashnikovs and everything else.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The Deputy would know more about them than I would.

Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Does the army council know about it?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Put the question as we are over time.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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What is the Minister doing to remove these roadblocks if they are being erected by his Fine Gael colleagues?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask the Minister to reply.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minister of State, Deputy Coffey, play his role in trying to resolve the matter?

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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We have a good package between us, so do not worry. It is more than what Sinn Féin is offering.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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This is a serious problem.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Resume your seat.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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When will we see rent controls? The people on the street do not find this funny. It is serious.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Did you hear me? Resume your seat.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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It is very serious. When will we have rent control?

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is playing games with his inflammatory language.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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This applies to the Deputy and the Ministers. Please stick to the allocated time. That is why we have clocks. They are not ornaments, they are for a purpose.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The Deputy's response was very ironic. There is no issue with vested interests in any form and I would not tolerate that in any way. I am not under the control of any form of vested interest.

A small percentage of landlords are trying to act in an unscrupulous way, which is unacceptable. However, we also need landlords to supply stock because we need a mixture of social and private housing. The issue is how we can ensure more supply and measures for the coming years, while that supply is being put in place, to ensure people believe there will not be unjust rent hikes.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Minister is over his time.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The Private Residential Tenancies Board is doing much work in the area and I presume the Deputy has seen the awareness campaigns.