John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to speak about both recommendations. Recommendation No. 8 is on the rent freeze.This sounds great in theory but in practice, where it was implemented by the left-wing government in Berlin, it was struck down by the supreme court within 12 months and it resulted in a 50% reduction in rental supply. Does Sinn Féin think that is somehow going to be different in Ireland as opposed to Germany? I do not quite understand the assertion they are making on the rent freeze, apart from the fact that it sounds good in a soundbite clip on TikTok or Instagram.

With regard to the measures we have implemented around the rent tax credit, obviously it has been expanded on in budget 2024. It is important to say that people have four years to claim that rent tax credit back, so we probably will not see the full extent of the refunds in tax credits out until 2026. There are a number of people who are excluded from that rent tax credit, including those people who are renting legitimately from a family member. As that property does not have to be registered with the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, they are therefore excluded from the rent tax credit. It is an issue that I highlighted at the joint Oireachtas committee a few weeks ago, and it is a matter that the RTB acknowledged before the committee. Perhaps that is something the Minister can take away and examine in the context of the rent tax credit system.

Finally, with regard to the Daft figures that were referenced, obviously we do not go by the Daft figures. They are asking rent figures. The real figures for rent are published by the Residential Tenancies Board and were published last week.