Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)

We have heard phrases like "confusion", "uncertainty", "doubt", "ambiguity", "chaos" and "mess" used in the past week to describe the new rental regulations. When these words are used to describe new regulations, we know the Government is not doing its job. The Government has failed renters for too many years. While we in the Social Democrats support the expansion of rent pressure zones in principle, the corresponding measures in the Bill will contribute heavily to rent inflation and supporting investor funds to make higher profits.

When questioned about when we will start to see rents coming down, I believe the Minister said in a press conference last week that he does not know. Surely the reason for the Bill is to bring rents down. It would be great to have an indicator of when we might expect rents to come down following the passage of the Bill which, in theory, has that aim at its core.

The Government is selling the Bill as a bold step forward for renters, but I feel it is more of a sleight of hand. It speaks the language of fairness, but it bends towards investor interest rather than renter protections. The Bill makes a lot of noise, but when one reads the fine print one finds it offers legal clarity for landlords and financial uncertainty to renters. It provides predictability for REITs and hedge funds, while those struggling to pay €2,000, €3,000 or €4,000 a month in rent are just one notice away from eviction.We need public housing affordability benchmarks, real eviction bans, and an end to the commodification of homes.

I want to address the issue of students and public sector workers like doctors and nurses who have to move frequently as part of their jobs. Every time they now move, they will be subjected to new market rents. We heard on Tuesday at the Raise the Roof demonstration outside Leinster House, which I am sure the Minister heard, that some nurses are already paying something like 70% of their monthly income on rent. That figure of 70% of their monthly income on rent is absolutely extortionate. I know the Minister would not agree with that and would not want to see that. Under the new regulations, these groups, students, and other people who have to move regularly due to the nature of their work, have no protections from market rents when they are moving, because generally they are moving within an academic year or a certain period of time, depending on their contracts. When the tenancy expires, under these new regulations the landlord can hike the rent for that property to the market rent at any given time. It does not matter what sort of private accommodation it is. That will put rents up. That will be the outcome of this, and that is what is deeply concerning to us. I appreciate this has been brought in quickly in response to the need for more direct measures on housing, which we have all been calling for. However, the fact we have not had enough time to discuss and scrutinise this Bill is very concerning because we do see gaps in it.