Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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This Government is a very competitive one. There are many competing crises under the Government's remit at present but, unfortunately, one crisis is the clear winner - the housing crisis. This is a humanitarian crisis that has been building for many years and it still worsens today.

I attend Trim district courthouse regularly. It is chock-a-block with families in mortgage distress where banks are seeking to repossess their homes. It is shocking that there is a property rent and price bubble in full swing in Meath at present while the collateral damage of the last Fianna Fáil property crash is still weaving its way through the courts. Hundreds of families in Meath are living with friends and family. Dozens more are in emergency accommodation. I am aware of people in Meath who have had to stay in tents, churches and Garda station cells so they could bridge the gaps between homes. Currently, there are 3,800 people on the housing waiting list in Meath, despite the fact that there are 2,500 vacant or derelict buildings in the county.

Rents in the county have spiralled over the last number of years, increasing by 50% in the last four years. They increased by 15.8% last year and in the year to date they have increased by 16.7%. They are spiralling out of control. Indeed, they are increasing at a faster rate than in any other county in the State. I wholeheartedly support the right of a landlord to charge a fair price for a decent house. Indeed, it is a key component of the housing provision system in this country. However, the rents we are discussing now are in the realm of super profits. These are not the rents that are necessary to cover mortgages or to ensure that the landlord can provide a house and maintain its contents in a decent fashion. Supernormal profits are being made.

The average rent in Meath at present is €1,050 for a house. That makes renting a house unaffordable for many people on low incomes. Perhaps the Minister of State will put himself in the shoes of a person working 40 hours per week and earning the minimum wage. If that person is required to provide accommodation for their family and rent an average house in the county, they will spend 65% of their income on the rental of that property. That is their income before it is taxed. They are expected to spend the 35% that is left after paying the landlord on feeding their family and on providing electricity, warmth, clothing, education and health care for their family.

The key point here, which is something that has been missed by the Government so far, is that the point at which rental accommodation becomes unaffordable is the point where homelessness begins. That is the reason our party, since this crisis has manifested itself, has pleaded with the Government to link rent increases to the consumer price index. At present, rent pressure zones have been designated in only a small part of this country. Places such as Meath West are left outside of those zones. I ask the Minister to ensure that towns in the commuter belt are considered part of the rent pressure zones.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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First, I beg the indulgence of the House as I have not read a script in 15 years, so if I get lost I will try to correct myself.

The way in which an area is designated as a rent pressure zone is set out in the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016. The 2016 Act amends the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 to provide that the Housing Agency, in consultation with local authorities, may make a proposal to the Minister that an area should be considered for designation as a rent pressure zone. On receipt of such a proposal, the Act provides that the Minister must then request the director of the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, to conduct an assessment of the area to establish whether it meets the necessary criteria for designation and to report to the Minister on whether the area should be designated as a rent pressure zone. Where the Residential Tenancies Board confirms that an area satisfies the criteria for the area to be designated, the Minister then has a statutory obligation to make an order designating that area as a rent pressure zone.

An area cannot be designated as a rent pressure zone unless it meets the criteria set out in the legislation. These criteria are that the annual rate of rent inflation in the area was 7% or more in four of the last six quarters and that the average rent for the area in the last quarter was above the average national rent in the RTB’s rent index report in the last quarter, which is €987 per month for the first quarter of 2017.

On 15 June 2017, the RTB published the rent index report relating to the first quarter of 2017, which includes a summary of the data used as the criteria for designating rent pressure zones in respect of local electoral areas in the country. This allows all interested parties to see where their area stands with regard to rents and possible designation. The data from the rent index report relating to KelIs, Navan and Trim is included in the report and indicates that the annual rate of rent inflation in Trim and Navan was 7% or more in at least four of the last six quarters, while for Kells the report shows that there was growth of 7% or more in three of the last six quarters. In all cases, however, the average rent for these areas was not above the RTB average national rent for the last quarter. Therefore, these areas do not meet the criteria for designation at this time.

Under the Act, the Minister has no further role or discretion in proposing areas for designation as rent pressure zones or in deciding whether they should be so designated. The designation process is independent and based on clear objective criteria and quantifiable evidence. The Housing Agency will continue to monitor the rental market and may recommend further areas for designation. Where, following the procedures set out in the Act, it is found at a future date that additional areas meet the criteria, they will be designated as rent pressure zones.

A review of the rent predictability measure and the system of rent pressure zones is currently under way.

The provisions have been in place for six months and data from the Residential Tenancies Board's rent index report for the first quarter of 2017 are now available. This is the first rent index covering the period since the rent pressure zone measure was introduced. Using these data, it will be possible to ascertain the effectiveness of the rent predictability measure and whether any changes need to be made - for example, to the qualifying criteria or the designation process. As part of the review, a public consultation process on the effectiveness of the rent predictability measure and the rent pressure zones was launched on 15 June 2017 and will remain open until 30 June. Further details on the consultation are available on the Departments website.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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It is shocking to me to learn that the towns we have just discussed meet the criteria with regard to spiralling rent. The Minister of State says they do not meet the full criteria, however, because the rent in question is not already an outlier, as in being too high. In other words, the Government's mechanism is to wait until rent gets too high and then slow down the increase to 4%. It does not put the brake on it or stop it but it waits until it gets too high and then decides, perhaps, to slow it down somewhat.

I have mentioned the thousands of people who are already in massive crisis with regard to housing. There are thousands of other people living in houses today who are living in fear that their landlord will either increase the rent or decide to move them out of their home, thereby leaving them at the mercy of the market. That is exactly where the Government is leaving them. It is saying to them there are no brakes that it will apply to the rents in the towns of Navan, Kells, Athboy, Trim, Oldcastle and Enfield. It is extremely frustrating. Meath West is the home of the Minister of State with responsibility for housing, Deputy Damien English. We would have believed there would have been some leverage there with regard to making the changes. It is also the home of the Fianna Fáil Deputy, Shane Cassells, who abstained from voting on the legislation and, therefore, allowed for these Meath West towns to be excluded.

The point the Minister of State made was that the Minister is prevented from participating. He is not. He has a mandate from the people to fix this problem. He is not stopped by legislation because he can make sure it is changed. If the Minister decides to change it, he will have willing helpers on the Sinn Féin benches to make sure the rent is linked to the consumer price index or the rate of inflation, and make sure that normal families can go to sleep easily in the knowledge that next year's rent will also be affordable.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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With regard to my area, the Deputy gave a very interesting statistic. He referred to there being 2,800 vacant buildings in County Meath. While I am in this position, it is my intention to consider how we can get those vacant properties back into the housing market. I have a particular, designated role in that regard.

The Deputy referred to legislation. It is clear. The Minister must act if the criteria are met. The Deputy is doing his job as a Deputy for Meath West but the criteria are not met. It is a bit rich, in a way, for any Deputy to say a Minister of State - Deputy Cassells was mentioned also - should be in some position to manipulate the legislation. It is quite clear that the criteria have not been met. The legislation can be amended and I agree with the Deputy in that regard. I indicated in my response that a full review was happening. It is only six months since this was introduced. It is not a universally recognised fact that rent controls work everywhere in the world. It is appropriate that after six months we would review the arrangement. As the Deputy clearly put to the House, there is a case for an extension to his area but we need to determine how the measure is working overall. After six months, it is appropriate to have the review. Certainly, the Deputy's representations arguing for an extension to other areas will be considered as part of the review of the legislation in this area.