Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

I have been listening to the debate. If my record is correct, 11 Senators contributed. I want to acknowledge their contributions. What I heard is that Senators agree that it is important that all tenancies across the country be protected as soon as possible under the current rent increase limits that apply to rent pressure zones.

This Bill provides the necessary protections for all tenants from the day after the passing this Bill until 28 February 2026. In line with the commitment in Housing for All, a review of the private rental market was undertaken by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and published in July 2024. The review recommended a comprehensive examination of the current RPZ system. At its meeting on 10 June, the Government approved new policy measures to provide for an enhancement of rent control protections from 1 March 2026.

The stronger tenancy protections will provide further improvements to security of tenure. The rental sector provides homes for a significant proportion of the population. We need to give people more certainty that their tenancy will not be ended. We want to provide more stability and confidence to renters. In order to stimulate investment and keep existing landlords in the market, there is resetting of rents to market value for new tenancies created. This is for first-time tenancies between parties. Existing tenancies stay as they are. New tenancies between parties, on or after 1 March, will be allowed as part of reform of rent controls. Given the critical need to increase supply of new apartment development for the rental market, rent increases for apartments subject to commencement notice on or after 10 June will be linked to the CPI without the 2% cap. The Government has committed to achieving a stable and predictable policy to attract and retain the private investment needed to meet our housing targets. It will take time for supply to come on stream given the nature of large-scale residential development. An increase in the supply of private rental accommodation is crucial to supporting the Government's overall housing target and addressing affordability in the private rental sector.

Supply is key. Reports indicate that very little private investment at scale has gone into the development of new home builds for the private rental sector since mid-2022. The impact of this has become apparent in the apartment completion figures for 2024 where we saw a reduction of 24% from 2023 following several consecutive years of increasing delivery. The Housing Agency review, the private rental sector review of 2024, the Department of Finance report on the flow of finance for residential apartments for 2024, the Housing Commission, the ESRI, the OECD and the IMF all identify that the current rent control system has had an impact on the supply of new private rented accommodation. The Bill aims to quickly protect all renters from rent inflation. From next March, a new approach to rent control and stronger tenancy protections will be implemented. I will now outline, as I will be taking Committee Stage, the provisions of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2025, which contains five sections.

Sections 1 and 5 contain standard provisions. Section 1 defines "Principal Act" to mean the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. Section 5 provides for the Short Title, commencement, collective citation and construction of the Bill.

Section 2 amends section 20, concerning the frequency with which rent review may occur, of the principal Act to provide for the termination of bi-annual rent reviews outside of RPZs, as the entire country will become an RPZ from the day after the passing of this Bill.

Section 3 amends section 24, concerning areas deemed to be rent pressure zones, of the principal Act. Section 3(a) provides for a two-month extension until 28 February 2026 of the operation of RPZs in the administrative areas of Cork City Council, Dublin City Council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Fingal County Council and South Dublin County Council, which were deemed to be RPZs under section 24B(1) of the principal Act. Section 3(b) provides for a two-month extension until 28 February 2026 of the operation of RPZs in the local electoral area of Drogheda rural, which was deemed to be an RPZ under section 24B(2) of the principal Act. Section 3(c) provides, through a new section 24B(3), for the deeming of any area that is not already an RPZ to become an RPZ from the day after the passing of this Bill until 28 February 2026.

Section 4 amends section 8(2) of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 to provide for a two-month extension until 28 February 2026 of the operation of existing RPZs that were designated under section 24A(5) of the principal Act. I thank the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, as the Minister, Deputy Browne, has done, for waiving formal pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill. Departmental officials attended a meeting to provide an informal briefing, which I hope Senators found helpful. I also thank the Chief Whip and the Business Committee for making time available in the busy schedule. I thank the Cathaoirleach and Senators for facilitating the Bill passing through Seanad Éireann.

The Government is acutely aware of the difficulties faced by many renters in accessing affordable and suitable rental accommodation in today's constrained market. We all share the common goal of providing quality affordable accommodation for renters. The programme for Government commits to providing a supply of affordable rental accommodation and security of tenure for renters. The Government is developing policy responses with regard to additional accommodation.

I commend the Bill to the House and look forward to progressing through the Remaining Stages of the Bill. It is an important interim measure, pending implementation of comprehensive rent reform next March. The Minister, Deputy Browne, looks forward to bringing that Bill to the Oireachtas for debate as soon as practicable.