Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome these amendments. They come after other amendments that have been put in place by this Government over the course of the last year or so to protect renters, enhance their protections and increase their security of tenure, which is welcome. The protections that were put in place are all welcome and include: additional notice periods; caps on rent increases; and the extension of the rent pressure zones. They go a long way to helping with increasing renters' security of tenure. The leases of indefinite duration are also important.

The reality is that there would be no hope for people if we had not passed Housing for All and if the Government had not committed €20 billion to deliver: improved conditions for renters; a massive increase in the social housing stock; the introduction for the first time ever of a cost rental model; and an increase of affordable and private housing. For people who are renting and who want to have the security of knowing they are living in a place that is their home, these measures help them in the short term but the only way we can give people real security of tenure is by increasing the housing stock and we all know that. I welcome these amendments and I encourage the Minister of State and the Government to press on with Housing for All and the housing delivery increases we need to see.