Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Is é seo an suí deireanach den Dáil sula dtagann rialacha an Rialtais i bhfeidhm chun an cíos a ardú Dé Domhnaigh. I gceann cúpla lá, beidh cumhacht ag na tiarnaí talún móra an cíos a ardú go leibhéal an mhargaidh do thionóntaí nua. Díreach mar a dúirt Sinn Féin, tá na creach-chistí ag dul thart. Sa Teach seo inné, thug an Teachta McDonald le fios go raibh IRES REIT, an tiarna talún príobháideach is mó sa Stát, ag maíomh go hoscailte ina thuarascáil bhliantúil go ligfidh an dlí úr a thug an Rialtas isteach dó a chuid cíosanna a ardú suas le 25% ar léasanna nua. Tá an Rialtas anois ag brú tríd an ardú is mó cíosa atá feicthe againn riamh.

This is the final sitting of the Dáil before the Government's rent hike Bill rules come into force on Sunday. In a matter of days, landlords are going to be handed the power to increase rents to full market levels for new tenancies. Exactly as Sinn Féin warned, corporate landlords are preparing to cash in, and they are not hiding it. They are telling their shareholders that increased profits are coming because of decisions taken by the Tánaiste and the Government. Yesterday in the House, Teachta Mary Lou McDonald revealed that IRES REIT, the largest private landlord in the State, is openly outlining how the Government's legislation will allow it to significantly jack up rents. In comments reported on thejournal.ie, its chief executive stated, "Under these rules, every unit in our portfolio with the lease commencing after the 1st of March 2026 can be re-let at prevailing market rents once vacant." He described it as a "substantial" opportunity. He talked about it leading to "enhanced returns for the company and our shareholders". The company has projected a staggering, eye watering 25% increase in rents with minimal additional costs as a direct result of the Government's policy.

This is not a mere Opposition claim. This is the largest landlord in the State explaining plainly, in black and white, that the Government's rent hike Bill will allow it to raise rents and boost shareholder returns.

At the same time, the Residential Tenancies Board figures show that rents are already at record highs under this Government, and that tens of thousands of renters had to start new leases last year. Who are these people? They are ordinary people right across the State who, under the Government’s rules, would face rents being reset to full market levels. Behind each of those numbers and each of those statistics are real households who were forced to move maybe because of work, the sale of a property, family breakdown or landlords' decisions. Many of them are already stretched to their limits. The Tánaiste knows that 60,000 renters on average every year move into a new tenancy. Under the Government's rules, the landlord is going to be free to set the rent at whatever the market rate is even if that means a jump of 25% compared to what was paid before.

In the last sitting of this Dáil before these rules take effect, I am going to ask the Tánaiste directly, faced with clear evidence and with everything we know of who benefits and who pays, is the Government even at this late stage going to reverse course and stop these rent hikes before they inflict serious hardship on tens of thousands of renters across the State? How can the Tánaiste stand up, which I have no doubt he is going to do in the next few minutes, and justify a company - the biggest landlord in the State - in some cases renting a two-bedroom apartment not far from here for an eye-watering €3,200? How can he justify the biggest landlord in the State saying very clearly to the Government and its investors that the Government's legislation now allows it to increase rents by about 25% on average for new tenancies? How can the Tánaiste stand over that? How can he look renters in the face knowing the pressures they are under and say that he stands over that?

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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There is a consistent and ongoing effort to misrepresent the factual situation in relation to the new rent rules and rental reform. I welcome the opportunity this morning in the Dáil to, I hope, disprove some of the scaremongering and misinformation and to provide some facts to people who are watching at home and would like to know the facts.

First, from 1 March, there is no change at all for existing tenancies - none, zero, none at all, no change. That is really important. What does come into place from 1 March is a balanced package of measures, which includes within it some of the greatest protections we have ever had in the history of our State for renters. That is not just my view. That is the view of the University College Dublin, UCD, professor of social justice who spoke on this in recent weeks as well.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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That is not the view of the largest landlord in the State.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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We will see greater protection for renters than ever before. For the very first time ever, we will see nationwide rent pressure zones. For the first time ever, we will see six-year rolling tenancies providing people with that security of tenure. For the first time ever, in many ways, we will see an effective no-fault eviction ban. We brought in very strict and stringent rules in relation to that as well. Yes, from March, it is possible for new tenancies to be set at market rates but here is the next bit. It is only possible for them to be set once and then they need to be locked in at that level for the next six years other than being able to rise for-----

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Yes, but rent is three years-----

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Other than being able to-----

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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It is three years for students' rent.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy, please, allow the Tánaiste to conclude.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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We are not going to do this; we are going to have a serious conversation. That is other than being able to rise for inflation and, even then, capped at 2%. For the first time ever, somebody who takes out a new tenancy in March will have that six-year security, the protection of an effective no-fault eviction ban, and will also know the rent cannot rise further during that six years, except in line with inflation but no more than 2%.

This 25% figure Deputy Doherty's party leader threw around this House yesterday is not a fair representation at all. That is not my view. This morning on national radio, as Deputies may have heard, and if she has not heard it, I hope Deputy McDonald will go back and listen to it, the representative body for the investment company quoted in the Dáil yesterday felt it necessary to go on national radio to describe Deputy McDonald's comments yesterday as, first, not correct, and, second, as absolutely a complete mischaracterisation of the issue. That is important for the people at home. These are people-----

Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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They would say that, though.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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These are people the Deputies would know well because Deputy Ó Broin has met them twice in the past year according to the lobbying register. These are investment companies-----

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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How many times has the Tánaiste met them?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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They know well in Sinn Féin. They have met them twice in the past year.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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That is-----

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I do not know what Deputy Gould talked to them about but they met them twice.

Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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It is called-----

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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They have come out and said that what Sinn Féin said about it being 25% simply is not true. They said that the 25% was a projected figure over ten years. Deputy Doherty left that out. It is a projected figure over a period of ten years. Sinn Féin obviously recognises, or at least I think it does, there is a need for private investment to come into the rental market. I presume it does because its members keep meeting the companies. The lobbying register is full of times they, particularly Deputy Ó Broin, have met the companies to discuss these opportunities. Let us not scaremonger. People's rents are not increasing by 25% in March. No existing tenancy will see any change. Nationwide rent pressure zones will come into being. We will have an effective no-fault eviction ban.

Yes, for new tenancies, for the first time, the market rate can be set but then it must be locked except for allowing for inflation. That is a significant protection. All this is done with one aim only, that is, to increase more supply because without supply and private investment, according to the Housing Commission, we will not be able to have renters and home owners. We need to keep on doing supply.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The Tánaiste has been found out. It is as simple as that. He has been found out. His only defence here is that not every renter will be hit on day one. If you are looking today or moving on Monday, you will be hit by these rent hikes. The fund was very clear, in black and white, to its investors on its conference call that there will be 25% increases. Yes, it said, it will take a while for that to flow through.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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It will not be from day one.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Order, please.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Does the Tánaiste not know that, from Monday on, every single new renter will be hit by these increases? He stands there and justifies it and his backbenchers applaud it. That is exactly what the Government has done. I have made the point clearly that this is just one landlord – the largest landlord in the State with 3,600 properties – but other big landlords can do the same. Some 60,000 new tenancies are created every single year. The Tánaiste accepts, does he not, that every single one of those new tenancies can now see their rents jacked up? That is the reality. This is the first fund which came out and said in black and white to its investors, "Happy days, lads, the Government has just put millions of euro into our pockets. We can jack up rents by 25% and we see one in seven of our tenants leave every single year, so we will start to see these returns in year one."

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Doherty, your time is up.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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That is the reality. It is in black and white. The Government has been found out. What the Tánaiste needs to do now is reverse it or defend why he thinks it is appropriate that rents would go up that high.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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What I would say to the young people at home-----

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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The ones who have a home.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Do not shout me down.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Can we have some order, please?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I would like my time protected to answer the question.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Order, please.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I would say to the people watching at home, yesterday, Sinn Féin came into the Dáil and suggested people’s rents were going to rise by 25% in March.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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For new tenancies.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Today, the Sinn Féin spokesperson has acknowledged that is not a fact-----

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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That is not true.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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-----and actually acknowledged a moment ago that his figures may take a number of years to come about.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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That is not true.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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You are bullshitting as usual.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I did not say that.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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It has been found out today on national radio by people saying the Sinn Féin leader's representation in this House yesterday was a complete mischaracterisation. Hypocrisy-----

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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How much will rents go up?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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May I speak, please?

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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If not by 25%, then by how much?

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Gould, please.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Deputy Doherty asked the Tánaiste a question.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Hypocrisy from Sinn Féin is not new when it comes to housing.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Defend what they are telling you. Stop spoofing.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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We have a situation where Sinn Féin talks about investors as though it does not like them, as though they are not good.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Why does the Tánaiste not defend it? Defend the policy.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Sunday Times last week showed Sinn Féin has received millions

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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He cannot even defend his own policy.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I would like to speak.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Please.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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It is very unfair.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Do not continue this.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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It is very unfair to renters across the State. The Tánaiste stands there and waffles when these landlords are telling him they are increasing rents.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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The increases will take a while, he said.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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We will move to the next question.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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The increases will take a while, he said.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Deputy Buttimer knows this is happening.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Sorry, but there is a serious issue here.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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These landlords say one in seven renters leave every year.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Can Members please respect the Chair? I will say again that I do not mind robust exchanges – they are fine – but the carry-on here on Thursday mornings is nothing short of shameful. I ask Members to acknowledge the Chair, acknowledge Standing Orders and please conduct the debate in an orderly fashion.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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If I am allowed, in line with the rules of the House, to respond-----

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Yes.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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-----in the minute that is given to me to respond to the charges that are put across this House. The position put forward by Sinn Féin in telling people their rents are going to rise by 25% is categorically untrue. It is being done to scaremonger and to worry. Sinn Féin talks about investment funds as though they are the big bad wolf while regularly meeting them, according to the lobbying register, and while accepting millions of dollars from construction companies and property developers in Friends of Sinn Féin in the United States, as we saw in The Sunday Times.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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They are hypocrites when it comes to this. We are on the side of renters. That is why we are increasing supply-----

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Catch yourself on.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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-----and bringing in rent protection that nobody has ever seen before.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Catch yourself on, man. The only thing the Tánaiste is missing is a red nose because this is the kind of thing you would hear from a clown. He says he is on the side of renters when the biggest landlord in the State is talking about jacking up rents.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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We are on the side of renters. Sinn Féin is on the side of absolute hypocrisy. Seriously.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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When you cut through the noise, all you get from Sinn Féin is hypocrisy.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Tánaiste, please.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Honest to God. The Tánaiste makes for a good comedian.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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The Leinster House comedy club.

Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Two weeks ago, "RTÉ Investigates" aired two programmes on the appalling treatment of some of the most vulnerable and seriously mentally ill persons in this country. It made for harrowing viewing. It is unconscionable that the State effectively condemns mentally ill persons who come into contact with the law to indefinite remand, without access to the appropriate medication or treatment, and all because of the lack of appropriate care in the community. In the wake of these revelations about the state of our adult psychiatric services and the reliance on our prison system to deal with and treat these people, what is the Government response? To be honest, I have heard no urgency nor any update by way of response to what is a scandal of this State. In the words of Professor Charles O'Mahony, who contributed to the programme, Ireland is effectively using the Prison Service to warehouse people with severe mental illness. Our country has replaced one form of detention in psychiatric institutions for many decades with another, the prison system. That is wrong.

There are around 340 psychiatric patients being held in prisons across this country, with dozens of acutely psychotic people waiting for admission to the Central Mental Hospital. We know that one third of the beds in the Central Mental Hospital remain unopened. We heard just this week from the HSE that it hopes that ten beds will open by March but it could not be confirmed.

A high-level task force report on mental health and addiction from 2022 contains some really good recommendations but there was no progress report last year, which is the year some of those recommendations were supposed to be implemented. It seems when it comes to the crunch there is little or no action.

We all know this system did not emerge today or yesterday. It emerged over many decades. We now need a complete change of approach. We need to move away from using detention as a tool of control. Last year, the Mental Health Commission said there had been 62% reduction in the use of seclusion practices and restriction practices in psychiatric institutions. That is great but the reality is that many of those people are now being held in our prison system. We need to move away from a system where the only access to mental health supports is through the prison system. Conor Ryan from "RTÉ Investigates" told the story from Cloverhill Prison of how people were being refused access to psychiatric units within our hospitals and only finding that help within the prison system. We need to move to a system of diversion. Recommendations in the Henchy report are now 50 years old but have not been implemented by the State.

These are life and death issues, not just for the patients but also for their families. In recent weeks, I spoke to the family of Maud Coffey, who lost their sister two years ago, and to the family of Natalie McGuinness. The thread is very clear. There is a lack of joined-up thinking between mental health services and a lack of communication with families and, ultimately, people are losing their lives.

What is the Government's response to this horrendous situation of using the prison system to effectively treat and detain people who are seriously mentally ill? Will the Government proceed with a programme for Government commitment to build approved health centres within the prison system? To be frank, that is the completely wrong approach. Will the Government prioritise diversion over detention for seriously mentally ill people in this country and place diversion on a statutory framework?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising this very important, sensitive and real issue in our country, our prisons and in relation to our mental health services. It is something that I know is having a real and painful impact and is a worry for many families in our country too. I join with the many who have already thanked those who spoke on the recent "RTÉ Investigates" programme on the forensic mental health services for sharing their lived experiences and giving voice to issues that should not be seen or debated in this House as abstractions. While I am not a clinician, the responsibility of the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health and all of us in the Government must be to maintain public confidence in an essential service for a highly vulnerable group of patients - I use the word "patients" because that is what they are - and the dedicated staff who care for them. I spoke to the Minster of State, Deputy Butler, recently on this. She has asked the HSE for full reports on the cases highlighted in the programme, particularly those involving the Central Mental Hospital. I just want to make that point. The Minister of State has also asked that all appropriate care options for the individuals featured be examined.

There are actions under way to try to improve this situation. I know it is a statement of fact but it is important to remind us all that the Central Mental Hospital is just that; it is a hospital. Its purpose is and must be to provide treatment to support rehabilitation but also to have a carefully, safe, managed environment to help people return to the community where possible. We have seen demand for forensic mental health services grow in recent years and we have seen the opening of the new CMH at Portrane. That was an important moment. It saw the transfer of over 90 patients from an old, outdated, really inappropriate building in the Dundrum facility to a new hospital that has been recognised as one of the best forensic mental health hospitals in Europe. However, we need to open more beds in it. We have 114 operational beds at CMH. That is an increase of 20% on the former hospital. Additional funding has been secured to open the remaining 16 beds and recruiting staff is the key priority here. There is a need for very specialised staff in some of these settings, as the Deputy will be aware. An additional €2.8 million was provided in budget 2026 to open what they call the new ICRU which will bring beds into use that will support smoother patient movement through the Portrane campus and will also create further space.

On our prisons specifically, we already have two psychiatric intensive care units at Carraig Mór centre in Cork and the Phoenix care centre in Dublin, and we are also now providing psychiatric in-reach services to ten of our country's 12 prisons, assessing and treating prisoners with moderate to severe mental illness. Additional funding has also been provided to extend this service to Limerick Prison and we are very eager to progress with that as quickly as possible.

There is a programme for Government commitment. I think the Deputy has a different point of view on health and the Prison Service but the view was here that there was a need to provide within the Prison Service for people who require imprisonment to meet their mental health needs, separate and distinct from the health needs that could be provided in the hospital.

Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Everything the Tánaiste has said is nothing new in that it is already contained within the service plan for the HSE for this year or last year. The reality is that there has been no response to the appalling revelations. I am shocked, as I hope other people are as well, but we are not hearing that urgency from Government. The reality is that not every bed within the Central Mental Hospital will be open by the end of this year and there is no plan to open every single bed. That is absolutely wrong. The reality is that the State has failed to invest over many years. Last year, €95 million was spent on exporting some of our most seriously ill patients to the UK - a 20% increase last year - all because of the failure to build here. This is the week in which we see an actual cut in the HSE capital plan this year compared to last year. There is a lack of a plan and a lack of action on the part of this Government with regard to mental health services. For years, we have had soothing words that there was going to be an increase in support. The reality is that mental health is the poor relation of the health service, and that needs to change.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I take the Deputy's point and I accept her bone fides in relation to this but this is an issue Government is taking extraordinarily seriously. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is taking a very hands-on leadership approach to this area. I thank her for that. She has the support of all of us in government. On the specific, very worrying and concerning revelations in the "RTÉ Investigates" programme, the Minister has sought a full report from the HSE on each of the experiences and cases highlighted in that programme. I know she is very eager to get that report and is very eager to be able to work through any such report on a response to the issues. Objectively and fairly, the decision we took to invest in, and now open, a brand new, state-of-the-art Central Mental Hospital, deemed one of the best forensic mental heath hospitals in Europe, is a major step forward in forensic mental health services in this country. If you had all the money and all the staff in the world, you would still open that hospital on a phased basis to get it right and to do it in a very orderly way considering the complexity of care that is required. We have seen that. Ninety three patients have been successfully moved, capacity has been increased to 114 and there is now a process to continue to open all of the beds. More broadly, should there be an ability of the mental health services to spend more capital the Government will provide that funding.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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Let us be very clear. It is not the Opposition that made the claim that the rental income of IRES REIT is going to go up by 25% as a result of the changes the Government has made. It was IRES REIT that made that claim. Does the Tánaiste accept that? His only defence seems to be that not every renter will be affected immediately. Does he not realise that a 25% increase in someone's rent, whether it is this year, next year or the year after, is completely unmanageable for the vast bulk of renters? How does the Government think people are going to be able to pay this increase? Does it not understand that people are already struggling to make ends meet and to pay their Bills? The Government admitted this week it got it completely wrong on SNAs. Will it admit it has got it completely wrong in terms of these changes that are a gift to corporate landlords?

To put this in context, IRES REIT made a profit of almost €50 million last year. Does the Tánaiste not understand that the changes are going to cause even more hardship for renters and for families, putting them under more pressure? Does he not understand it will push more and more people into homelessness, that we already have record homelessness, including a record number of homeless children, and, shamefully, a record number of homeless pensioners? This is going to make it even worse. Beidh níos mó agus níos mó daoine gan teach.

Earlier this week, the State's biggest landlord, IRES REIT, about which we are talking, announced it was going to buy up an entire apartment block in Naas. This block with 77 apartments was already under construction. IRES REIT is not building anything new or increasing supply. Individuals and families who were hoping to buy one of these apartments and homes when the construction was completed are now being left disappointed. It is doing this because of Government policy. Government refused to ban corporate landlords and investment funds from bulk-buying apartments. Now, by letting rents rip it has opened the flood gates. These corporate landlords are going to snap up more and more homes. People work so hard to support their families and to get a place of their own. Instead of saving to buy a home, they are now handing over their wages to these giant landlords.

Is the Tánaiste so blinded by his craven ideology of giving these corporate landlords whatever they want and ask for that he cannot see the damage he is doing? Renters in Ireland who are already paying some of the highest rents in Europe are now going to be fleeced even more. The Government admitted it got it completely wrong on SNAs. Will the Tánaiste now admit it has got it completely wrong on letting rents rip and reverse its decision on this?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I have never been accused of having a craven ideology before. Our only policy objective in this coalition Government is to make sure we build more homes for our people to buy and rent and to make sure we deliver supply. Without properties, apartments and homes to buy or rent, every conversation we have in this House is interesting but academic. It is interesting but abstract if we do not build enough homes. The Housing Commission, which I am sure did not have any ideology either, as it had lots of different perspectives and backgrounds, said very clearly that there was a need for private investment in terms of getting to the supply. I make the point respectfully that it is surely not the Deputy's position that the only people who should be building apartments should be the State. Surely we see the benefit in private investment alongside an unparalleled level of State investment in housing. We are investing more than most European countries in housing supply, yet we know, as do the Housing Commission and everybody who has looked, that in and of itself will not be enough. It will not be enough to fix the housing emergency unless we also attract in others to add private investment funds. If we talk of ideology, we should be very careful we do not demonise that. We need a diversity of supply. We also need lots of different types of building and construction under way.

I hope the Deputy would accept the points I have made in this House that the comments this morning on national radio regarding the 25% clarify there was never a position that was going to be in a year or, indeed, in two or three years. That was apparently a projection, according to the comment on the radio this morning, over ten years. I am not saying anyone did it intentionally but it has been done in such a manner that has caused fear and worry. Nobody is suggesting market rents are going to be reset at 25%; not the investment fund the Deputy quoted. That investment fund has clarified that this morning. It is important we make that point too.

I have acknowledged, because it is the truth, that from March it will be possible for new tenancies to have rents set to market rate. I have also said, and it is only fair the Opposition also says this, that along side that there is a protection for the renter that is not there today, in that their tenancy is secure for six years and their rent cannot be adjusted beyond inflation capped at 2% for the next six years. That is a significant protection for people who rent a property. They know they are there for six years, there is an effective no-fault eviction ban in place and their rent is effectively capped at no more than a 2% increase per year.

That is a significant package of changes. Yes, there are comments from all sides of the debate - the left, the right and everywhere - about how we could have done this or done that. Lots of different people have a different perspective. The Government has tried to arrive at a balanced point of view here, one that drives more people to invest because, by God, we need it - we need more homes and apartments built in this country - but also one that, alongside that, puts in place a very ambitious, comprehensive set of protections for renters that have not existed in this country before and have been warmly welcomed by many, including those in the UCD school of social policy.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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Mick Byrne of the UCD school of social policy, whom the Tánaiste has been quoting, said that what the Government is doing is effectively removing rent regulation. The Tánaiste has been selectively quoting what he has been saying on this.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As has Deputy O'Callaghan.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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IRES REIT has been very clear in what it has said on this. It has said it believes its rents are currently about 20% below what it believes should be the market levels and it has said these changes will result in its rental income going up by about 25%. The Tánaiste has not addressed that. Simply saying that not every renter will face this straight away and, when they do face it, the rent can only go up by 2% every year for a few years does not address it. When it balloons by such an amount, how will people be able to cope with that?

Does the Tánaiste not understand that if people are already put to the pin of their collar in terms of paying rent and their rent jumps by 20% or 25%, that will push more families, pensioners and children into homelessness? Does the Tánaiste not understand that? How will people paying extortionate rents be able to face those kinds of increases? What will they do? Will the Tánaiste reverse his decision?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I patronisingly get asked by the Opposition whether I do not understand, but does the Opposition not understand that we have to increase supply? We have to increase supply. I never hear from the Opposition, beyond more State investment - which we are doing - what policy lever the Opposition would pull to encourage more people to build more apartments. The people who vote for them and those who vote for me-----

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Cut VAT.

Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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What about the State investment scheme?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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We have very significant levels of State investment. We have a Land Development Agency-----

Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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Why is there not more? The Government is bringing in investment funds.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Maybe the Social Democrats will give Deputy Hearne a go at Leaders' Questions one day. We are investing more than ever in housing. We are investing more than most European countries - genuinely.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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None of that justifies a 20% increase in rent.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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However, there is a need and it is not just my view and it is certainly not my craven ideology; it is the view of the Housing Commission-----

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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It never said to increase rents by 25%. When did it say to do that?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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No, it said to get in private investment. There is no Government policy to do that.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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It is to increase rent.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Government's policy is to stimulate private investment-----

Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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By throwing renters under the bus?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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-----but alongside that put in place a package that the Opposition is refusing to acknowledge because it does not work for their social media clips.

Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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This is about social media, is it?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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There will be an effective no-fault eviction ban. The Opposition will put up a selective clip that will put the fear of God in people in relation to rent but it will not tell them about the no-fault eviction ban.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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What the Government is doing is putting the fear of God into people.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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It will not tell them about nationwide renters' protections. It will not tell them that, actually, the sound bites delivered in here yesterday were dispelled on national radio today. Let us be fair on this sensitive issue. Let us actually bring forward ideas in relation to this. We are bringing forward a balanced package to stimulate supply and protect renters.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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The Office of the Confidential Recipient was founded in 2014 as a result of the Áras Attracta scandal. That scandal was exposed by RTÉ in a documentary called "Inside Bungalow 3". Disturbing undercover footage showed vulnerable adults being mistreated by some staff within that HSE-funded service. It showed inhumane and degrading treatment to residents and several people with intellectual disabilities in that location. Secretly recorded footage showed that staff members were slapping, kicking, force-feeding and physically restraining vulnerable adults while also subjecting them to psychological abuse, such as shouting and demeaning insults. The exposé revealed a systematic culture of neglect and institutional control, where residents were often treated like eternal children and deprived of basic dignity and liberty.

In the aftermath of that, several of the staff faced criminal prosecutions and convictions. Nine were immediately suspended. The scandal triggered multiple national inquiries by HIQA and the HSE. One of the main outcomes of that scandal was the fact the HSE set up safeguarding services and the Office of the Confidential Recipient was created. The then director general of the HSE, Tony O'Brien, said the Office of the Confidential Recipient would, under the terms of the 2004 Act, be a recipient of formal, legal delegation from him, giving her the authority through the health service and the powers invested in the chief executive of the HSE.

I have heard shocking news about that office this week. The Office of the Confidential Recipient is to have its powers eradicated. It was an independent avenue for the public to get issues of wrongdoing resolved. A total of 1,500 formal complaints were made. Thousands of consultations and inquiries were held. Hundreds of vulnerable people who had no other pathway to justice used that system. As a result of new decision within the HSE, shockingly, the powers invested in the Office of the Confidential Recipient will be eradicated. The delegation, which is the legal underpinning of the powers of the confidential recipient, is to be set aside. Without that delegation, the office has no independent powers.

The new national framework HSE policy for adult safeguarding in the health and social care sector, which was just announced, has a serious and inherent conflict of interest. The HSE will now be its own de facto regulator. The HSE, which is the primary carer for these individuals, will now be the primary investigator of abuse in that particular sector. These fundamental changes mean that the confidential recipient will basically have no independence. She will come under the office of the chief social worker of the HSE. Essentially, it has made that office answerable to the chief social worker on an operational basis.

I ask the Tánaiste here today what independent and confidential pathways will vulnerable patients of the HSE have to get justice and have their situations looked at? Will he make sure this decision is reversed?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and reminding us of a lot of the very good work that has been done by that office since its establishment. I recall the appointment of Leigh Gath, who I think was the first confidential recipient. She was a woman whom I knew and she did incredible work. She was a Thalidomide survivor herself and a disability advocate. She really did excellent work and I acknowledge that and think of her today.

I will ask the Minister for Health to come back to the Deputy directly with any further information or thoughts on this but my understanding is that when the office was originally established much of the structure that is in place today in relation to safeguarding, and even the role of the chief social worker within the HSE, bizarrely, perhaps, did not exist. There has been a very significant overhaul of the structures in place. We now have a chief social worker. That chief social worker has that overall responsibility for delivery of adult safeguarding services. We have had expert reviews in relation to that role and the structure of safeguarding services within the HSE as well.

My understanding, and based on what the Deputy has said, which I have no reason to disbelieve or doubt, is that the confidential recipient's reporting line will now be to the chief social worker as opposed to the chief executive of the HSE. I make the point that, even as originally constructed, the office always reported in, for want of a better phrase, to the HSE, whether to the CEO or the director general previously. In this case, there is some wisdom to the idea that the chief social worker is a person who has a level of professional expertise and qualification that may indeed be more appropriate. The structure has changed. I genuinely do not believe there is any attempt to downgrade or in any way devalue the vital work done. I reiterate the Government's view that this work is vital, beneficial and has made a very significantly positive impact on improvements to our health service. We want to see that continue.

However, the structure of the HSE has changed and there is now a chief social worker position that did not exist when the original structure was put in place. That is my understanding of the change, no more and no less. I will ask the Minister for Health to reflect further on the Deputy's comments and revert to him.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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What is happening here at the moment is a serious scandal. This country has a really bad record in terms of standing up for people with disabilities and learning difficulties. Many of them have been abandoned for a long period of time. State bodies have a history of defending their institutions against those individuals who have been wronged. That is a record that is peppered right throughout the State bodies in this country. Look at the Brandon and Emily cases. The Brandon case exposed 100 incidents of sexual abuse and other abuse against people with intellectual disabilities in Donegal. The Emily case involved the rape of a nursing home resident with dementia in this State. We are talking about situations of absolutely grave importance. We are also talking about a serious eradication of that independent power and confidential power.

Already, there are people within the HSE refusing to work with the confidential recipient or get into things with her. Already, that is happening within the HSE.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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You should conclude, Deputy Tóibín.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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The idea that in some way getting rid of independence and putting another individual of the HSE in control of an office for investigations that are to happen in the HSE is backwards. It is giving the power to investigate to the organisation that is accused of the wrongdoing.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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You should conclude, Deputy.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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That never works. Will the Tánaiste seek a reversal of this?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I disagree with the Deputy's characterisation of it but I appreciate the point he is trying to make. It is a highly important issue that we all need to be alert to. This office has operated since day one as an independent office. It was an independent office that receives confidential information and then reports it to the HSE's CEO.

When it was reporting it as an independent office to the HSE's CEO, there was no chief social work officer responsible for reforming and driving reform in this area. There now is. Certainly the Minister can revert to the Deputy on some of the concerns he has raised, but I want to be really clear: the office remains independent. There has been no effort to subsume the office into the HSE's internal structures. What has changed, and the Deputy is correct on this, is the reporting structure. The confidential recipient now reports in their information to the chief social worker and had previously reported in to the HSE's CEO. That is being done from a place of wanting to reflect how-----

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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It is a radical move.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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-----the HSE now operates and the role and the value of the chief social worker because the chief social worker has been a positive addition, for the many reasons that the Deputy outlined, to the HSE. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy further.