John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I second the amendment. I do not propose to stand here for six minutes and pretend there are no issues in housing; there are. Likewise, I do not propose to say there are sufficient affordable homes available for working families and individuals because there are not. Equally, however, I do not propose to sit here for the next two hours listening to Sinn Féin pontificate about simplistic solutions to what are very complex problems. I have always said that I will work with anybody but, unfortunately, Sinn Féin consistently presents fairytale solutions that take no account of the real world, the real costs involved, the technical expertise required to deliver housing at scale, state aid rules or constitutional rights. Sinn Féin thinks it can shake the magic housing tree, houses will suddenly fall from the sky and, hey presto, everything will be fixed. In the real world, we need to have a proper functioning housing and rental market. To do that, we must attract investment into the country to build mixed tenure housing, including social, affordable and private purchase housing. I accept the State has a role in that regard but to suggest it can do it alone is a fairytale. It will take private sector investment to build houses.

The thrust of the Sinn Féin motion is the introduction of a rent freeze for a period of three years. Sir Isaac Newton's third law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. While the slogan of banning rent increases for three years will sound appealing to the electorate, a responsible legislator must look at the consequences of such a move. In Berlin, the left-wing government proclaimed it would solve everything by freezing rents.Eighteen months into what is its five-year rent freeze, it is important to reflect on some of the predictable consequences. While rents have been frozen and have reduced considerably across the regulated pre-2014 build apartments for existing tenants, what about those who currently do not have a tenancy? As of last September, the number of homes available for rent in Berlin was down 42% by comparison with a year earlier, and the number of pre-2014 homes available for rent had dropped by 59%. Why is that? There has been an exodus of landlords, with an increase in the number of units up for sale of 23%. For those who are lucky enough to get new tenancies in the unregulated new apartments, rents have risen by far in excess of those in any other German city. The Berlin legislation is being challenged in the federal court. If it is overturned, all those who have been paying lower rents will face massive increases and, potentially, large bills for back money. Where will the German Government be then? It is to believe in a fairy tale to believe the proposal contained in the motion is anything other than a reckless gimmick that would inevitably end up being challenged in our courts and that would almost certainly deter continued investment in the rental accommodation market at a time when the key requirement is to continue the progress being made to increase housing supply across the State.

The Sinn Féin motion is a further cynical attempt to paint a picture that the Government is doing nothing in this space when, in fact, the opposite is the case. My party introduced rent pressure zones in 2016. At this stage, some 73% of tenancies in the private rental sector are covered by rent pressure zone designation. The year-on-year growth in rents nationally is now below 2%. This is the first time this has been achieved since 2011, and it is a welcome relief for tenants. It points to a welcome moderation of rent increases in the private rental sector as a result of concerted Government action and initiatives. The Minister is very conscious that the legislative measures on residential tenancies are coming to a conclusion at the end of December and he is considering what action, if any, will be taken, bearing in mind the constitutionally protected property rights of landlords, which Sinn Féin seems to selectively ignore and, at worst, does not care about. One must remember that we cannot have a proper, functioning rental market without landlords. The recent RTB report showed that landlords with five tenancies or fewer account for 72% of all registered tenancies. These landlords should not be vilified. That is coming from someone who does not own a property, let alone a rental property. Unfortunately, given the course of things in recent years, it seems that if one says anything positive in favour of a landlord, one is regarded as being in some way against tenants. That is not the case. To pit one against the other is a great shame and deeply unhelpful. It should be said that only 2% of tenancies in this country actually end in dispute.

I am looking forward to the measures the Government is introducing in the Affordable Housing Bill for cost rental tenure, affordable purchase shared equity and an increase in affordable purchase under Part V of the Housing and Development Act. I certainly hope that every party in this House will support the Affordable Housing Bill when it reaches the floors of the Dáil and Seanad.