Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would like to address the House on the proposed new rent certainty legislation. We all know many parts of the country, and this city in particular, are in the midst of a housing and rental crisis. Many of our clinics are attended by families one rent hike away from being out on the street and homeless. Arbitrary rent increases due to a complete failure by this Government to increase the supply of housing have caused a very serious rental bubble that directly affects our capital and many large urban areas.

Fine Gael has ignored this crisis and it has always held the view that any interference with the rental market was untenable. In the last hours of this session, however, the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, presented ill-thought-out legislation and has attempted to railroad it through this House without any proper consultation. We all know that ill-thought-out and rushed legislation is never a good idea. We saw this with the disastrous creation of Irish Water in 2013 which, as we know, is the Achilles heel of this Government. The flippant manner of the introduction of the rent legislation is negligent when dealing with a serious policy issue that affects tens of thousands of people and that will have long-lasting effects on the housing market as a whole

Saying that, Fianna Fáil has always been a strong advocate of rent certainty. The legislation should have been introduced in a meaningful and considerate fashion in which long-, medium- and short-term effects were all considered. Fianna Fáil believes a 4% increase on top of other increases is far too high. We envisage increases of 1% to 2%, which would include wider geographic areas and a taxation policy that will actually encourage supply so that once the housing market catches up, intervention in the rental market can be reviewed and dismantled.

Many struggling families are watching us in Leinster House this Christmas. I hope the Government can make serious efforts to solve the impasse so families can take some comfort in the knowledge that they will not have to face any more rent hikes in 2017 and thereafter and so they can give their children the security they deserve this Christmas. Fianna Fáil is open to discussion and I hope this matter can be resolved by Christmas.