Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The private rental market is broken. It is dysfunctional, and everybody knows it. People are paying extortionate, sky-high rents and getting no protection in return. They have no protection if the home is sold, if the landlord decides to move in or if the landlord decides to move in a family member. They have no protection for their deposit. They have no protection from people whose name does not even go on the lease. Crucially, they have no certainty in terms of the level of rent people are being asked and forced to pay.

For its part, Sinn Féin has consistently outlined alternative policies for the private rental market time and again. We have called for one month's rent to be put back in the pocket of every renter in this State through a refundable tax credit to the value of €1,500 because rents are too high and they need to come down. To stop any future rent increases, Sinn Féin has also been calling for a three-year ban on rent increases at the current level for existing tenants and, for any future tenants, at a Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, rent index level, depending on the size, location and type of dwelling.

People are paying one quarter, one third or sometimes half of their salaries for half decent accommodation and a roof over their heads. Something needs to give. We need to offer people hope. The Government has the opportunity to offer something to renters tonight. It has the opportunity to offer something to people who believe that this city is actively working against them. Those individuals are right. Dublin is a hostile place for renters and it is actively working against them. People see all of the wrong things happening. They see luxury student accommodation changing the face and the fabric of inner-city communities.They see co-living developments continue to be approved despite apparently being banned. They see office blocks and hotels where they should be seeing affordable accommodation, cultural spaces, community spaces and. for that matter, offices that may well be the ghost estates of tomorrow.

I want to share the stories of the people I know; some of my friends. Friend A lives in Dublin city between Stoneybatter and Phibsborough and pays €500 per month for a single-bed box room. This person's name has never gone on the lease because they are afraid the rent will go up. They do not call the landlord about anything whatsoever because they would rather be invisible.

Friend B works on the front line. They went to view a three-bed newly-built apartment near Harold's Cross that costs €3,000 per month and thought, maybe, they could do it. However, one of the bedrooms was not even big enough for a wardrobe, which was in the hall. Who, therefore, was going to pay less than €1,000 for a €3,000 per month apartment? Unsurprisingly, this person did not pursue the apartment.

Friend C, like many others, lives at home with family and does not expect to be moving out into the rental market any time soon. Friends D and E admit that they got lucky because they are paying mates' rates for places in which they are staying that are owned by family, friends or friends of family. Ultimately, all this comes down to luck. Nobody can deny this is what it comes down to. These are privileged stories. We have not even started in terms of the other end of the market. Why can we not give people certainty and security considering they are paying almost half of their salary to put a roof over their heads?

We need to build affordable cost rental accommodation on a scale far beyond what the Government is currently proposing, where rents are only charged based on what it costs to build, manage and maintain those properties. The Government has put €35 million on the table for approximately 400 units this year. We have no idea what is planned next year or the year after. We need to increase the supply of cost rental to the point that we are buying and building 4,000 units every year for the next ten years. Sinn Féin's fully costed budget alternative in 2021 outlined and allocated more than €900 million to achieve that aim.

We all saw the report by Louise Byrne on "Prime Time" last week. During the Covid-19 pandemic, rents across the State have gone up. In Dublin, although one would not think it, rents have come down by 3%. I believe the market is actively resisting a shift in rent because big investors and big landlords have big pockets. Some new apartment blocks are half full, such as Clancy Quay in Islandbridge. Some tenants have come to informal agreements with their residential landlords but are worried sick about the rent arrears post pandemic. That is why a ban on rent increases, evictions and notices to quit and putting one month's rent back in the pockets of renters, is so important. It is why it is important that we ensure the banks work with landlords on mortgage repayments.

In conclusion, I have mentioned Covid-19 and its effect on the private rental market. More than that, I believe Covid-19 is affecting people's priorities for the future. People want the Government to adopt bold policies that defend their interests and those of their loved ones. A demand for change exists that goes way beyond this current pandemic. We need to reduce people's rents and ban rent increases until we have sufficient supply. We need for the State to drive that supply with affordable cost rental accommodation every year for a decade.