James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I am grateful to all Senators and everybody behind the scenes for facilitating today's debate on this urgent legislation in Seanad Éireann at such short notice. As Senators know, on 10 June 2025 the Government approved policy measures to provide for the enhancement of rent controls and tenancy protections from 1 March 2026. Last week, the Government also approved, as an interim measure, the provision of a two-month extension of rent pressure zones and the deeming of all areas of the country as a rent pressure zone from the day after the passing of this Bill until 28 February 2026, when the general legislation comes in to being.

On Tuesday the Government approved the publication of this Bill to implement this measure. We are moving fast because renters need protection and I am determined to make that happen. From the day after the passing of this Bill, with the co-operation of both Houses of the Oireachtas and enactment by President Higgins, the current rent pressure zones will apply right across the country, to include the 17% of tenancies not currently protected by rent pressure zone rules. This is an important measure.No rent increase can exceed 2% per annum pro rataor, if lower, the rate of inflation, as measured, unless certain exemptions apply. This is an immediate and concrete protection against high rent inflation. Rent increases outside of rent pressure zones are now at a level where the application of the rent increase restriction can be justified nationally.

We want to provide certainty, clarity and stability for the rental sector. The new policy measures announced last week to apply from next March aim to boost investment in the supply of homes. A new national rent control will come into effect on 1 March 2026, immediately following the expiration of rent pressure zones. Legislation will be introduced later this year to give effect to the new measures from March. The impending changes to rent controls have been informed by the findings of the Housing Agency review of rent pressure zones, the potential policy options identified and its recommendation to modify the operation of existing rent pressure zone rent controls. These changes will have a significant impact for our rental sector.

I accept there is a fine balance to be struck in our efforts. We aim to attract investment but we know tenants deserve and need fair treatment. We aim for tenancy protections that best suit tenants and landlords but we also need to deliver supply so those who are at home in families' box rooms can have somewhere to live. Let me be very clear: this is just one strand of a suite of measures, including planning extensions, planning exemptions and a tranche of further key decisions this week and in the coming weeks from the Government.

This Bill, along with the legislation which will operate from March 2026, includes a number of key changes and represents progress.We aim to strike a balance and to bring clarity and certainty. Without all of these measures, we cannot ramp up the supply as needed, and the Government is determined and ambitious to get this right. The Bill is a straightforward interim measure to extend all existing rent pressure zones and to deem all non-rent pressure zones to be rent pressure zones from the day after the passing of the Bill until 28 February 2026. Comprehensive rental reforms will be the subject of a further Bill to be introduced in the Houses of the Oireachtas for scrutiny and debate later this year.

As Senators can appreciate, the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2025 and the upcoming changes to rent controls and tenancy protection feed into a broader suite of measures to increase housing supply. On Tuesday the Government approved the Bill's publication for progress through the legislative process in this House and Dáil Éireann on an urgent basis to facilitate early enactment. I thank Senators for their co-operation and the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage for granting a waiver on Tuesday from pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill. I thank the committee's Chair, Deputy Carrigy. I hope that the informal briefing from Department officials was useful.

Given the risk of high rent increases for tenants outside of rent pressure zones who have not had their rent reviewed in the past 24 months, the intention is to seek the early signing of this Bill into law by the President. It is important for all tenants to be protected as soon as possible by the rent increase restrictions that apply in rent pressure zones. This Bill provides that necessary protection for all tenants from the day after its passing until 28 February 2026, when general legislation comes into being. Currently, 17% of tenancies are located outside of rent pressure zones.

I will briefly outline the provisions of the Bill, 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 rent pressure zones, as the entire country will become a rent pressure zone from the day after the passing of the 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 rent pressure zones 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 rent pressure zones 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 rent pressure zones in the local electoral area of Drogheda rural, which was deemed to be a rent pressure zone 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 a rent pressure zone to become a rent pressure zone 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 rent pressure zones that were designated under section 24A(5) of the principal Act.

The current rent control system is not optimal for renters, potential new landlords or investors and changes need to be made through this Bill and follow-up legislation later this year. The changes approved by the Government last week will provide significantly stronger protection for tenants and finely balance the interests of tenants with the need for further private investment in the rental market. The Bill before the House is balanced and takes into account the legal advices of the Attorney General. It is an interim measure and will safeguard tenants from high rent inflation during the period to next March. Go raibh maith agaibh.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for coming to the House and for the work he and his Department have done to bring forward this interim legislation. With almost 250,000 registered tenancies in the country, an awful lot of people living in rented accommodation need what the Minister is promising to deliver through this legislation and all the other work he is doing: certainty, stability and clarity. It is important that people have security and know they have a home that meets their needs. I know the Minister understands the crisis and emergency around housing. I appreciate the work he and the Department are doing.

All the NGOs must also be recognised, as well as the local authorities, the approved housing bodies and those who invest their private equity in increasing housing supply. The latter are often pilloried and demonised, particularly by the Opposition, but it must be recognised that we need all types of homes. We need the State to provide homes and there is historical, unprecedented State funding going in to increasing supply and affordability. It is also important that there is private investment. That private investment will come from developers, construction companies, banks and private equity, as well as from investment funds and other ethical investors.

If we are to encourage that investment, it is important to increase supply and to provide certainty, clarity and stability. This interim measure the Minister is bringing forward will introduce that. Most importantly for renters, it extends rent pressure zone protections. That means that for the first time renters all over the country, no matter where they are, will be protected by rent pressure zones. There will not be one level of protection for a renter in one location and another level in another location. There will be equality for renters. In bringing forward this interim measure, it is important to communicate this to renters. There has been clear communication from the Minister but as the legislation passes in the Seanad today, hopefully, and is signed by the President, there should be further communications to the general public. It is important people know rent pressure zones are extended, the caps are extended to all renters and the Minister will progress legislation that will introduce from next March the new scheme which will involve for the first time a national rent control, end no-fault evictions, cap rents at inflation and only allow resetting of rents when there is a change of tenancy. It is shifting protections to renters, which is important.

I ask the Minister and the Department, when progressing the legislation for March 2026, to look at other areas around renters that need attention. The rent register should be progressed. I know the Department has been working on it. Could the Department progress a deposit scheme for renters in parallel? I know additional resources have been given to the RTB but a review of the adequacy of those resources and the operations, effectiveness and accessibility of the RTB for all renters would be important.The Minister said in his opening comments that this is only one element, and I want to acknowledge that. I acknowledge the energy the Minister has applied to what is a huge task, one that I know is a top priority for Government.

Increasing housing supply and affordability will not be achieved through this one Bill but it is an important step and an important legislative development. For that reason we will obviously be supporting it. I also heard the Minister mention the planning exemptions he is progressing, which are very important. Everything that can be done should be done to accelerate the increased supply of homes through planning exemptions, the land zonings the Minister is progressing and the work he is doing in increasing funding to Irish Water and the utilities that are so essential to the building of new homes.

We and the Department must also look at something that was done by the previous Government, that is, the increase in funding for social and affordable housing, and not just affordable housing to purchase but also to rent. Affordable cost rental in urban areas is essential. It was an exceptional achievement to get it through from a legislative perspective to being progressed as a policy and progressed with funding. To actually see affordable homes being advertised in Dublin city is welcome. The Minister knows this; I have heard him speak about it. There is a massive appetite in urban areas for the affordable cost rental model, one that provides affordable rents on a long-term basis in a stable, secure home.

I hope that when we come back in September for the autumn term and we are progressing the Minister's legislation for post March 2026, he will also be able to talk to the House about what is being done to accelerate the supply of rental homes and, most importantly, affordable cost rental. In urban areas, it is really important that people have the opportunity to rent affordably and securely in a stable environment and in well-maintained properties.

I commend the Minister on the work he has done. I thank him for coming to the House. We will be supporting the Bill.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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I now call Senator Aubrey McCarthy, who I believe is sharing time with Senator Boyhan. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)
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I thank the Minister for being in the House to address this important legislation. I have been a tenant myself, and also an accommodation provider for many years. I set up an approved housing body called Tiglin, which the Minister is aware of. We have accommodated hundreds of people over the years, including most recently many Ukrainian refugees.

I deal with the human element behind the numbers we are dealing with regarding homelessness, housing issues, etc. They are not just numbers or zones on maps. You are dealing with individuals who are coming undone and are perhaps a rent increase away from homelessness. I agree with the Minister that we have a duty to shield these individuals from uncertainty, and I understand the challenges he is facing in his very unenviable position as the housing Minister.

I am, however, concerned about the way this legislation has been announced in that it is creating a lot of confusion among the public. I do not think ordinary people understand it. The deadline for changes seems very rushed. This was brought up on today's Order of Business by my colleague Senator Boyhan. I know I was up until all hours pulling out the last bit of hair I have on my head due to frustration from looking at the Bill. If we find it overcomplicated, I wonder what the average person out there thinks.

Tenants are now concerned about whether their rent will go up. Landlords are wondering if it is worthwhile investing in this market. While what we are discussing today is new temporary legislation until the real legislation kicks in, we urgently need clarity to encourage an increase in supply, and that seems to be the main issue. The constant changing of laws is perhaps not a good thing as it will not encourage confidence or investment.

Today, I heard the Minister on the airwaves and I also read the Central Bank report regarding the lower forecasts for the number of houses to be delivered, with housing completions hitting approximately 32,500 this year, 37,500 next year and 41,500 in 2027. I sit on the housing committee and I am hearing those numbers are way off. I realise there are infrastructure problems, etc., but it is something we need to treat as an emergency in the same way, as I have mentioned here before, that we treated Covid and the Ukraine war. We managed to get it resolved by having a whole-of-society approach. The Government does not have the resources to do this on its own. As my colleague Senator Fitzpatrick said, we need everybody working together.

I deal with a lot of people through my homeless café, the Lighthouse, and I see a generation of younger people at a disadvantage in the housing sector. They are caught in a loop of high rents and a lack of available properties. Now we see students who are going to be disadvantaged by upward rental reviews when they leave at the end of the academic year. That will put further costs and pressures on young people. I am also concerned about the many emails I have received from people saying they have provided accommodation in rural parts of Ireland where local hotels have been turned into IPAS accommodation and they are the only tourist accommodation. That will now fall under this new legislation in the context of the rent pressure zones. That will create a further shortage of tourism and will have a side effect on businesses, pubs and restaurants in the local area. It is concerning that the administrative burden is also increasing on smaller landlords and the definition of smaller landlords, etc. Many of these providers will be driven from the market, and that is my concern.

I am a member of the housing committee. The witnesses who gave evidence to the committee in recent weeks said the issue here is housing supply and the only way to address what we are dealing with is by increasing that supply. Everything else is a sticking plaster and I think we all know that but I do not see anything in this Bill that will increase supply. The housing numbers are the biggest single obstacle to housing and it seems there is a blockage in the housing supply. Last week, I addressed the LDA and the Housing Agency and asked where the blockage is. It seems that is in local authorities but when you talk to local authorities they say, "No, the housing numbers have not been given." Is it in the Government? Is it in the national assemblies or the NPF? That is where the blockage is. We need to clear the blockages and all work together. We need to incentivise supply and then protect renters.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I welcome the Minister. I do not think I have had the opportunity since he became Minister to welcome him and wish him well. I have served two terms on the Oireachtas joint committee on housing. With regard to Rebuilding Ireland and Housing for All, we have just talked them out. I know there are challenges and difficulties. I am not going to be a hurler on the ditch, hurl abuse and say everyone is failing because they are not. There are so many facets to the whole housing issue and I genuinely wish the Minister well with it.

Before I move on to the substantive issue I want to talk about, I ask the Minister to confirm before leaving the Chamber that he has devolved functions to his Ministers of State. The Minister has a big task and challenge. It is about collaboration in policy but it is also about collaboration in his Department. The Minister has a formidable team of Ministers of State around him. I ask him to confirm that their devolved functions have been signed off and they are fully aware of what is expected of them in terms of putting shoulders to the wheel in implementing Government policy. That is really important.

I want to pick up on my colleague Senator McCarthy's point about the information deficit. There needs to be an information strategy within the next week or two on how we communicate this message. There are so many mixed messages. People have different agendas and there is a lot of misinformation out there. The Minister is the key driver in terms of his credibility. I appreciate that a lot of this is on his head and it is not easy, but it is essential that he meet with the communications strategists in his Department within days to get a really clear line of messages out on that.

I am supportive of many aspects of the Bill. We could argue about it being emergency legislation or about what we have been doing for the last few weeks. I am not going down that road but I want to raise the issue of students and the media coverage of what the Minister said with regard to students. The Minister can correct me if I am wrong but students in private rental accommodation will not have any additional protection under this legislation, with regard to new rental market rules. That is simple and factual and has been confirmed. Tenancies after March 2026 will be subject to a six-year tenancy agreement and landlords will be allowed to reset the rents on market rates after six years.That is factually correct too. Concerns are being raised in relation to students who rent for a limited period. The Minister knows why there is a limited period for students in respect of renting. They cannot afford to take the long-term rental commitments for the academic year, so it is tied into the academic year in most cases. We have to look at trainee nurses, trainee doctors and young An Garda Síochána recruits. There are difficulties with these professions in the city of Dublin and other parts, so that is a challenge we need to focus on. While we have not red-circled those or particular areas or groups, where do we draw the line? The Minister said that too, and I understand that. However, these groups will be subject to regular hikes in rent - that is the reality - and particularly students.

It was reported in the Irish Independent on Tuesday that the Minister had said that while measure would be looked at for student-specific accommodation, measures for students in the private market would not be introduced. In the same article, he is also quoted as saying, “We're working out issues around students while working over the bill.” However, he went on to say, “However, in the private rental sector, as it is at the moment, there won't be any special measures put in [place], in terms of the private rental sector [for these people].” That is very disappointing. I know the challenges. I know where the Minister’s hands are tied. However, these are students and trainees who cannot afford accommodation. We have an issue there, and I ask the Minister to look at it.

I will finish on this point. There are many forms of students. There are students in the academic universities who cannot secure accommodation internally on campus but are using private student accommodation as well as ordinary private accommodation. Student nurses contacted my office yesterday expressing serious concerns. Young trainee members of An Garda Síochána and young people in our Defence Forces are competing for accommodation in the private sector, given not many of them are living on campus as such. That is an issue and a challenge. I ask the Minister to take it on board.

The Minister confirmed all of that. I sought out the source of that article and it raises some concerns. However, the Minister is honest, and I have to admire that. He laid it out fairly and squarely. There is a challenge in that, though, and he has to do something about it.

PJ Murphy (Fine Gael)
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The housing crisis is the greatest challenge facing this State. It is an emergency, and emergencies call for immediate action. This Bill, I have no doubt, will help many tenants renting around Ireland. As somebody who lives in and has represented an area within a rent pressure zone for the past six years, I have some concerns about accidental landlords and the fact that inclusion in rent pressure zone regulations might act somewhat as a disincentive to some people to renting out their properties. However, overall, this Bill and these amendments will, in the bigger picture, help tenants right across Ireland. As Fine Gael spokesperson for housing in the Seanad, I commend this Bill to the House.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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Senator Maria McCormack is sharing time with Senator Andrews. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)
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Where do I start with this Bill? When I got my head around it, there is more confusion than anything else. I understand the pressures the Minister is under. We know housing is an emergency. When I went through it, I felt like this was some kind of a sick joke.

The Government has failed so badly on housing that we are running out of ways to explain to it how badly it is doing. Record numbers of homelessness continue to rise, as do the record house prices and record rental prices. In addition, sadly, the number of young people giving up on Ireland and heading to the likes of Australia continues to rise. The Government is now accepting that it will not meet its target for the number of houses to be built this year. Yet, here we have a Bill that amends the one bit of legislation that supports and protects renters with rent caps for rent pressure zones.

What does the Bill actually do for renters? Instead of giving renters hope or stability, it will lead to even greater rent increases for tens of thousands of renters. They are all contacting me. The Government's solution to rising rents is to cause rents to rise even further, at a time when rents are at a record high and we have a massive cost-of-living crisis. We are in a housing emergency. What renters need is a ban on rent increases for at least a three-year period and a dedicated plan to deliver enough social, affordable and private-purchase homes in that time. Sinn Féin supports the expansion of the rent pressure zones across the State, of course, but it must be done with immediate effect. It is like we are giving with one hand but taking back with the other.

I find I am met with total confusion at the increased complexity of this new regulation. Different settings having different rules will no doubt make it harder for tenants, especially vulnerable tenants, to understand and vindicate their rights. We will probably now see an increase in rogue landlords exploiting this complexity and exploiting vulnerable tenants, or non-professional landlords getting caught out because they have struggled to understand the new rules. The RTB is already inundated with cases. For sure, these changes will only increase its workload.

In my constituency of Laois, like most public representatives, I hear people’s struggles with the housing crisis every day and their experiences with renting. In recent months, I have heard a very similar story from constituents coming to my advice clinic, such as couples who have not had the chance to live independently as a family and couples who have a child but, because they have to live separately while raising their child, whose relationship has been strained and who now live separate lives. It is normally fathers in those cases, and they do not have adequate accommodation, so they cannot have equal access to their child. The men coming to me are desperate for help to be a good father and to have access to their kids. Where are we to put them - on a floor or in a bed at their parents’ house? One man in his forties explained to me how he is back living with his parents but they are too unwell for him to have his children over.

This story is becoming very common. Families do not stand a chance because their basic necessity to have a roof over their head is just not there. They have to live apart and, in some cases, they have to present as homeless, and if they are working, that is not an option. A whole cohort of working families are earning too much to qualify for social housing and, at the same time, earning too little to get a mortgage. They are caught in the middle and stuck in the rental trap. These are the people I am talking about.

Extending the rent pressure zones is great, but if we do not have a freeze on the rising rents, these are the people we are affecting, and we are screwing them even more. The Bill is throwing these families to the wolves. I ask the Minister to support the amendment to freeze rent for three years and have a proper plan to increase houses so we can see an end to this housing crisis. If we just bring this in now and rents go up, those families will be completely left behind.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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This Government’s approach to renters is astonishing. Rents are at an all-time high and have been increasing for years, with no hope in sight from Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. Renters have received next to nothing from this or the previous Government. Tenants are being extorted by their landlords and, in many cases, forking over the majority of their wages to the landlord for the privilege of having a roof over their head. Particularly in Dublin, ordinary people are being priced out of the communities they grew up in.

The luxury apartment buildings that have flooded the city from the south inner city over to Ringsend and Irishtown and down to Ballsbridge and Rathmines are completely unaffordable to the vast majority of the population and only exist to store capital for the multinationals and investment firms. An example of that is Capital Dock in the docklands, right next to the Whelan-O’Rahilly flats. Many of those units are empty because the landlord will not drop the rent because it will affect his overall revenue. Even for those with well-paid professional jobs and high levels of education, the idea of renting your own apartment, as is the norm in most European countries, is completely out of reach, unless you want to give up on any prospect of saving for a mortgage.

The lack of affordable housing is the biggest issue in this country, stifling economic growth and depriving ordinary people of the secure lives they deserve.People are living in squalor in overcrowded conditions. People are living at home well into their adult lives. They are living on the street or in emergency accommodation. For a country as rich as ours, our failure on housing is inexcusable and solely the result of a purposely exploitative or disastrously ineffective housing policy. We desperately need emergency action on housing and huge investment in our public social housing stock, coupled with comprehensive regulation of our private rental sector, to ensure tenants are put first.

What is the Government's priority during all of this? It is to gut the few regulations we have to line the pockets of its investor friends. The proposals introduced in recent days will lead to further rent increases for tenants, placing even more pressure on ordinary people in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.

Due to pressure from the Opposition, the Government half-heartedly acknowledged this fact and introduced this Bill to delay disastrous rent increases for those renters not currently living in RPZs. The shameful reality is that the Government's proposal intends to completely dismantle RPZs and weaken tenant protections in the long term. The Government is completely out of touch with the needs and concerns of residents and renters. The shambolic and confused way in which these reforms have been brought forward make this painfully obvious. We need RPZs to be expanded State-wide for an additional two years, not just the measly two months proposed. We need these proposed changes to be scrapped and for the Government to instead commit to adopting a tenant-based approach that is focused on ensuring everyone in this country has the home they need and deserve.

Pearse House residents are devastated that the regeneration programme has been dropped. They have emailed the Minister and sought a meeting with him. The least he could do is meet them, given that their expectations were high that regeneration would transform people's lives. The Minister has not had the decency to meet or reply to the residents. The least Minister can do is meet the residents and hear their issues.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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That is not relevant to the Bill.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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It is relevant to the residents in Pearse House.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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Senator Laura Harmon is sharing time with Senators Noonan, Stephenson and Cosgrove. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Laura Harmon (Labour)
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The Minister is welcome to the House. The way these measures have been communicated has been extremely confusing. Things were said at press conferences and in press releases. There were messages from the Minister and Taoiseach. This has been confusing for the public in general. The whole country should be a rent pressure zone in the long term. There is a huge missed opportunity in these measures to do that on a more long term basis.

Many of these measures will mean that there will be rent hikes for many people across the country, including students. Senator Boyhan mentioned this. I agree entirely with what he said. I get the impression that the Government's policy on housing is often being made on the fly and on the back of an envelope, judging by the way this has been communicated. We need a rent freeze in this country.

Why are students not being given the exemptions the Minister said he was considering? Why are they not being better supported? As somebody from Cork, I am concerned about students in Cork city because there are extremely low levels of purpose-built student accommodation there. Only 18% of the student accommodation in Cork is in public ownership, compared with 44% in Dublin, 56% in Limerick and 36% in Galway. This is shocking. I raised this with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Innovation, Research and Science last week.

We need a student accommodation strategy. I was told in January it would be available before the summer. It is now June and I have been told perhaps we will have it by the end of the year. That does not give me much confidence. There needs to be more joined-up thinking between the Minister's Department and other Departments. In Cork city alone, there are 36,000 students, and that is just in the universities. The figure does not include all of the other colleges in the city. They need to be supported, along with the families who are often putting students through college. There needs to be more support for students living in digs and for the RTB. More resources should be provided to the RTB to ensure landlords are registered.

As I have said, the Government is failing in terms of housing. That is clear. New homelessness figures will be published next week. The homelessness figures, along with the rents and house prices, are rising. A whole generation is being locked out of home ownership in this country. That is why we had a protest outside Leinster House the other day. There will be a protest in Cork city on Saturday, attended by thousands of people across Munster.

Malcolm Noonan (Green Party)
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We all want the Minister to succeed. We are all supportive of what he is trying to do. I served in the Department for a number of years and know the diligence of the officials working there and that of the Minister's predecessor. We are facing insurmountable challenges with infrastructure, including water and public transport. The proposals put forward are welcome in terms of extending RPZs to the rest of the country because there are pressures in all parts of the country.

However, the overarching solution is supply. We would love to debate lots of other things in both Chambers, but housing is the number one issue and will be with us, unfortunately, for some time to come. We have crazy schemes involving Uisce Éireann piping water from Shannon to Dublin. That will simply not work and will take a decade to achieve. Housing supply in Dublin will be stalled in a very short space of time.

We are considering modern methods of construction. The suburbs of Dublin need to be built upwards rather than allowed to continue to sprawl. Other countries are using timber frames. We need to scale that up. Once we get critical mass of supply and the use of timber frame construction, we could get to a place where we are building far more affordable accommodation for renters, in particular, and everybody else.

These measures are a sticking plaster on a gaping wound that, unfortunately, will be with us for some time. We will support the amendments put forward by Sinn Féin today. It is important we support them. We are not doubting the scale of the challenge the Minister and Government face. As I said, we all want the Minister to succeed. It is critically important from all of our perspectives that we can move on to all of the other great challenges that face us.

There are housing challenges right across Europe. Will renters here face the same problems as renters in Barcelona following the introduction of some of these measures? That is something that concerns me deeply. I wish the Minister well. Supply will be the only sustainable long-term solution to allow us to move into a mature rental market where the rights of tenants are respected and landlords can get a reasonable return on their investment.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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Before I call Senator Stephenson, I welcome guests of Deputy Barry Ward, sixth class from Kill O'The Grange National School and Mrs. Harris. I hope you have a lovely day. You are very welcome. I hope Deputy Ward is looking after you. As is tradition in the House, you have no homework this evening.

Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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I will borrow some time from Senator Cosgrove, as she is not in the Chamber. She had a previous engagement.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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You can take five minutes.

Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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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.

Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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I want to open by commenting on one important thing. We hear the line again and again that supply is the issue or supply is the problem. We need to be really clear that profiteering is the problem. That is the problem. Supply is important, but profiteering is what has been the obstacle in housing. I have seen it over the last ten years in these Houses, again and again. Senator Andrews spoke earlier about the area where I live. There are empty apartments all over those areas where the rent is kept at an artificially inflated level because they are parts of portfolios which allow investment in a theoretical rent in a series or set. They are being treated as assets and portfolio objects rather than homes. There are those empty apartments and then, when we talk about supply in our city centres and in communities throughout the country, there are areas where the planning permission is already there for public housing and other initiatives, and the Government has stalled in delivering those houses. There is not an obstacle there. There are also the many thousands of planning permissions that are already in private hands that have not been enacted because many are waiting to see if they can make more money if they build it later.

This has been a consistent approach, reflected again and again in bad idea after bad idea. I am being very frank. The strategic housing developments and others are constantly going to those who are profiting from a housing crisis and the Government is asking them what they think it should do next. We have done it again and again. We have asked the developers, and they will say something like "lower the standards". Then the standards get lowered and they do not deliver the housing because they have abandoned the permissions they already have because now they can do a new planning permission application and get it for lower standards. Or, they tell the Government they need it to lower planning standards and make the planning process easier. They get the planning permission and do not use them, or in the case strategic housing development, they got the planning permission and then they did not use them. They just have land that is worth a lot more now.

Similarly, in the area of rental, so much of it has been led by what the large-scale actors want. It is a case of how we can entice those who benefit very well from a dysfunctional rental market to engage more with it, rather than representing the interests of the public. That is where the language of balance comes in. Let us be clear, the duty of the Oireachtas and the Government is to the public and to the needs and rights of the public when it comes to the need and right to have a home that is secure and which allows you to plan your life, whereby it can be the base from which you engage in society. It is also important for social cohesion, which should be a priority.

Regarding this Bill, last week the Government announced its plans to make massive changes to the RPZ system in March next year, which included the piece in front of us and a number of other measures. However, the Government did not seem to anticipate how such an announcement would create this highly volatile, precarious situation for renters who are currently living outside a rental pressure zone. It is entirely predictable that landlords, whose goal is not to provide the public with housing but to maximise profits, would seek to raise the rent considerably in that period of time. That is why we are seeing this somewhat scrambled-together Bill now. The other changes may not be coming later, but this measure is clearly an attempt to protect against the unforeseen, but entirely foreseeable, outcome of the Government's announcement.

The Government should be taking urgent action. We should have a rent freeze. We were told many times it was impossible. It is a litany of things we were told were impossible that then happened. I think we were told vacant property taxes were impossible and possibly unconstitutional at a reasonable level, and then they appeared. It would be great if, when the Opposition comes up with ideas, those ideas were listened to, taken seriously and properly considered, rather than the time lag we have between things such as the Opposition looking for vacant property tax to be properly applied or for rent freezes, as it did a number of years ago.

The Bill before us seeks to cover the oversights and spare rentals from the RPZs from the consequences of the announcements last week. The way it has been presented has been somewhat messy. A crucial point is the Government could have done this already. We were told constantly how extending RPZs across the country would be unconstitutional. Those arguments do not seem to apply currently. It would be interesting to know what has changed. Under section 24A(5) of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, which this Bill is seeking to amend, the Minister already has the power to create new rental pressure zones. This emergency action from the Government is coming in the context of why that power has not been used. That is the power in law already, whereby the Minister could have been declaring a number of areas as rental pressure zones and is explicitly allowed to under the Act. The Act already allows new areas to be declared. Why has that not been used effectively? Why is this blanket measure coming in rather than making immediate use of that power under section 24A(5), particularly in the context of the response to the announcements last week? Section 3(c) of this Bill, seems to make a lot of what is in 24A of the Act of 2004 somewhat defunct. It makes it complicated in terms of how that will be impacted. We have the ministerial power to declare rental pressure zones and now we have legislation in terms of the declaration of rental pressure zones. It is not clear how those will intersect. It seems the implications maybe have not been fully considered in that regard, which is concerning for renters, many of whom are quite frightened this week.

While the Bill is attempting to make a last-minute intervention in terms of renters outside the rental pressure zones not being caught out with massive rent increases, and that has been the headline, that the Government is going to create this big rent pressure zone, even though it already could have created it, but chose not to, there is also a lot of very bad news for renters in what the Government were announcing. An end to the ban on no-fault evictions is really concerning, because while I am entirely in favour of a ban on no-fault evictions, I am concerned the delay and lag will lead to a situation whereby we are seeing a lot of no-fault evictions in the next few months. That issue is not being tackled or protected against. There are concerns around the six-year tenancy piece which affects predictability for households of knowing they can plan their lives, they can plan their children's schooling across a number of years in the same area, and they can have employment and know they are going to be able to build their career in that area. That limitation is a key consideration and concern. Focus Ireland has highlighted that the new regulations will create an even more complex private rental market in Ireland, with tenants' rights being dependent on the circumstances of their landlord and when the property was built. The resetting of rent every six years creates a deep concern, while doing so on the commencement of a new tenancy creates a risk of incentivising new tenancies. An issue that should and could have been addressed, and perhaps still will be in the subsequent legislation, is the position in circumstances where there has been substantial refurbishment. Currently landlords are allowed to put up the rent where there has been substantial refurbishment. That is an issue in terms of addressing climate action. We have constantly said that retrofitting should not be used as an excuse in relation to the hiking of rent because that creates a perverse dynamic against renters seeking to engage around that. It is also an issue for persons with a disability where accommodations have been made in relation to them. This means that one of the most vulnerable groups within the rental market is not properly protected. That issue was not addressed.

In my remaining time I will talk about the enforcement of RPZs. For clarity, the quarterly rent index shows there has been an increase of more than 10% for existing tenancies in Galway in the last quarter of 2024 and that Limerick city saw an increase of over 20% over the past two years. These are rental pressure zones already. Where is the enforcement if existing tenancies that are meant to be protected by the RPZs are seeing hikes of 10% and 20%? Enforcement will be crucial.

There is no balancing piece. The duty of the State is to protect its citizens in their right to housing. That is the priority. Commercial interests will be very good at looking after their own interests. However, the interests of the public and the State are actually where our responsibility lies. That needs to be paramount in the next set of legislation.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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There is no choice but to support this Bill because the Government is aware that many in the Opposition have been calling for an extension to the rent pressure zones for years. However, this legislation is ill thought-out. The reality is that the Government is not being forthcoming in terms of how badly it will impact renters. Rents will rise and extra pressure will be put on renters. Under this Bill, rent can be reset to market rates when a tenancy ends. This is disastrous for student accommodation. We already know that students are under immense pressure when it comes to housing costs and even securing accommodation in the first place. This stress impacts their mental and physical well-being. The legislation offers them no protection. With most student tenancies running from September to May, it would mean that when the tenancy ends in May the landlord could hike up the rent to match market rates.

The Minister, Deputy Lawless, recently stated that students should not be inadvertently disadvantaged by the new rental laws, but we see zero protection of students within this legislation. The Government has positioned this as a positive way to increase market activity but the cost will blow back on the renter. Why is there so much resistance to making the cost of building lower and more affordable? Even though we have 15,000 people in our country who are homeless, the Government will not consider decreasing the VAT rate on construction materials for a period of three to five years. This would take approximately €50,000 off the price of a house. It would bring in builders, make it cheaper to build homes and increase market activity. Most importantly, it would give renters, young couples and families a chance to own their own homes. We cannot keep up with the demand for housing and yet there are no concrete steps to bring down the cost of construction. This practical suggestion could be implemented by the Minister in the morning and it would unlock private housing delivery throughout the country.

If the Government refuses to engage on this point, we will continue to see a rise in homelessness figures as well as rental rates that will lock people out of the housing market.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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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.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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Now.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.