Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House for a second time today. We appreciate his time, as well as the effort that he and the Department have put into trying to tackle the crisis that is affecting far too many people who are renting their homes not just in Dublin, but all over Ireland. All Members know that rents have become unaffordable. It is for that reason that this new Government has legislated no less than five times since coming into office to try to tackle the rental unaffordability crisis that is affecting far too many working people and other citizens.

Housing poverty has a corrosive effect on society. It deprives people of the opportunity to go to school or work and get on with their lives. This is important legislation and I and the Fianna Fáil group will support it. I urge the Opposition to act responsibly when it comes to this legislation and debate. I know the debate is to adjourn at 10 p.m. but the House is scheduled to deal with it again later in the week. This is important legislation for people who are renting today or are dependent on the rental market. It is reckless and irresponsible to speak about introducing things that are not legally possible and that will only make a bad situation worse for renters. Senator Cummins spoke about the rent freeze that was attempted in Berlin. That had a disruptive effect. Not only did it significantly reduce the amount of rental property that was available, it compounded the situation for people who were renting by leaving them in limbo with two types of contracts. There were shadow contracts and shadow leases and an overhanging burden of rent on renters, and they did not know when it would be demanded and collected. It did not apply to properties that were built after 2014, and there were a raft of other exemptions. Ultimately, it was found to be illegal. I heard the spokesperson for Sinn Féin, not Senator Warfield, deny on national radio that he ever called for a rent freeze and then, in the same breath, not only demand a rent freeze but also a reduction in existing rents. If he and Sinn Féin want to communalise all private property in this country, they must come clean and say it. They need to tell the public what they are proposing. Most important, they must tell the renters of Ireland what they are proposing. They have to accept that this legislation will put caps on rent on the Statute Book. It will provide renters with certainty in terms of the duration of their tenancies and give them extra protections.

However, this is not the only action the Government is taking. In Housing for All and the other initiatives that have been taken, there is €20 billion in capital. Sinn Féin called for us to increase capital spending and we are increasing it. Affordable cost rental has been spoken about for decades. We are delivering it, despite the objections from the Opposition and the legal challenges. Even last night, Sinn Féin voted against 850 public homes on public land in this city, where it talks about the unaffordability of housing. It continues to oppose. We can spend all tonight and later this week debating it, but Sinn Féin should be honest with the people outside this House, who desperately need a solution to the rental crisis in which they are trapped, and support this legislation. It should support it to give people certainty and tenancies of indefinite duration and to put caps on the rent. The reality is it will take time to build the 300,000 new homes and the affordable cost rental homes, but they will be built and delivered despite its opposition. I ask that party to be constructive in the debate tonight and during the rest of the week.