Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I fully appreciate that we have huge challenges in the rental sector. I understand the anxiety and stress faced by many tenants who find their rents going up and are worried about whether they will have rental accommodation in the future. The Senator makes the case that we have huge difficulties in the rental sector, as we do. At the same time, we are at the point at which "landlord" has now become nearly a term of abuse in the way Sinn Féin uses it. That is the reality of the debate we are in. Every time Sinn Féin members use the word "landlord", they drip with invective about them.We need more rental accommodation in Ireland and we need more landlords willing to supply that rental accommodation. To call someone a landlord is a term of abuse on the part of Sinn Féin. The Senator talks about the challenges that tenants are facing but in the debate in the Dáil, Sinn Féin voted against an extension of a tax relief that seeks to support landlords with the expense of turning unused rental accommodation into rental accommodation they can rent out. What will Sinn Féin say to the families who will be looking for rental accommodation in the future and who will be looking to have a better chance of finding a property they will be able to rent in the future when Sinn Féin voted against a measure that seeks to support landlords in making more rental accommodation available? We have to acknowledge what Sinn Féin's arguments are doing to the many challenges we have in the supply of rental accommodation in Ireland.

Senator Gavan talks about the Fine Gael record in the housing market and I accept that there is much we need to do better, that we need to get more homes built more quickly and that they need to be more affordable. Our record is that we were in government at a time when there was not enough money available in our country to build the homes that needed to be built where they needed to be built. Year after year we have taken the measures and put in place the policies and money that have seen the amount of homes that are built by local authorities increase over time and the number of homes that are being built in our country increase over time. We acknowledge that for many it is not enough and that it is not happening quickly enough. The Senator cannot on the one hand argue that more needs to be done to provide more rental accommodation while on the other hand he continues to use the word "landlord" as a term of abuse. He cannot do both. The Government accepts that there is a huge challenge in how we can make more homes available for rent but we believe that the measures the Senator is proposing are a recipe for fewer homes and higher rents. It is for those reasons I am not accepting the Senator's recommendation.