Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise an issue related to one raised earlier by Senator Zappone. I believe renting must become a viable alternative to home ownership and tenants should not be treated as second-class citizens in the housing market. The recent attention on the Central Bank's mortgage regulations obscures the fact that for many young people, home ownership is a long way off and their reality, for the foreseeable future, is renting. Moreover, for some people renting is also a choice and this must be recognised and supported. Members have a responsibility to make renting a viable alternative to ownership, as it is in most comparable cities across the world, and not merely a stop-gap measure to bridge the gap between leaving the family home and buying a home.

Tenants need more security, including making long-term tenancy attractive for landlords. They need rent certainty and the possibility of increases linked to a specific index or capped at a certain percentage of the original rent agreement over a number of years. Landlords also need incentives to make this happen. Most importantly, being a landlord should be treated and supported as a legitimate business or career and this can only be to the benefit of tenants. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, has indicated that the Government is considering ways to increase tenants' rights through incentives for landlords. I believe this is the correct approach but it must take into account that renting can be a long-term choice and an alternative to home ownership. Solutions must take into account this fact and not be merely a short-term solution to the current shortage of housing supply. Therefore, I call for a debate together with Senator Zappone, albeit perhaps a wider debate than that for which she had called, in respect of renting in general in Ireland.