Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Senator Paschal Mooney and again request a debate on the issue of homelessness and the wider issue of housing. However, I disagree with the Senator's assertion that there is adequate protection for tenants. We are heading towards the eventuality of 1,000 families in the Dublin region being homeless by the end of this year. They are being made homeless because they cannot afford to pay rent increases, some of which have been in the region of 35% in recent years. There are no protections against economic evictions. The main reason for this is that there is no protection against unreasonable rent increases. The call for rent certainty is based on the fact the latter would allow people to have a reasonable expectation as to what would be a fair limit in the context of rent increases. I ask Senator Mooney to consider his position on that.