Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The issues around the Daft rental price report are scandalous when one looks at what the Government has not done. Rents in Dublin are up by 66% and outside Dublin they are up by 41%. They went up by 13.4% between January and March and the average rent is €1,131 nationwide. In Galway, rents are up by 14%. This Minister told us he would tackle the rent issue but he and the Government are failing.

I would welcome a debate on the NOAC report. One part that strikes me, from the point of view of Galway, is that there is one staff member for every 66 dwellings in Dublin City Council compared to one for every 1,197 in Galway County Council. Where is the property tax going in Galway? What is the money being spent on? Why do we not have the staff in Galway County Council to deal with the issues we have? The Minister, Deputy Coveney and the Government should be focusing on these issues but they are failing miserably and we need another debate on the housing crisis as soon as possible.