Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If anything shows how out of touch this Government is, it is the Minister's statement. We have a rental crisis, which happened under the Minister's watch. The problem has been getting worse year after year. We have hard-working families who simply cannot afford the rents they are being charged. Yet, a simple proposal to actually give those hard-working families a break in this budget has been rejected again by this Government.

I do not think the Minister understands the level of distress families are suffering due to these extortionate rents. I do not think he understands how much they are hurting. It is hugely disappointing but it does not surprise me because, let us be clear, we have had 11 years of Fine Gael government and during that time, Fine Gael has consistently failed in housing, renting in particular. That is why we have a housing crisis.