Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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34. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to introduce rent certainty measures to deal with the spiralling cost of rents in the private rental sector; and when he expects to publish these plans to be implemented. [38321/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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A shortage of supply is at the heart of rising rents and the Government is addressing this on a number of fronts. Construction 2020: A Strategy for a Renewed Construction Sector, published last year, is aimed at addressing issues in the property and construction sectors and ensuring that any bottlenecks that might impede the sector in meeting residential and non-residential demand are addressed.

Social housing has been prioritised by this Government and over €1.7 billion in Exchequer and self-funding was allocated to the Social Housing Strategy2020between the 2015 and 2016 budgets, to support the provision of over 33,000 units. The Government’s Capital Plan goes beyond 2016 and commits €2.9 billion in capital funding towards social housing out to 2021.

Ultimately, the key to addressing upward pressure on rents is through increasing the supply of housing, which is a core focus of the Government’s Construction 2020strategy. In 2014 the number of house completions was 11,016 units nationally, an increase of 33% on the 2013 figure. The latest figures for new house completions show that 8,914 units were completed to the end of September 2015, up 14% on the corresponding figure for 2014. NAMA is aiming to deliver a target of 20,000 residential units before the end of 2020, with 90%of these units to be in the greater Dublin area.

In addition to these measures, I am continuing to work on proposals to address the issue of rising rents. The level of rent increases, particularly in the greater Dublin area, presents a serious challenge. The regulation of rent,however, raises many complex economic and legal issues and I have to be satisfied that any measures proposed are balanced and have the desired effect on the rental market while being fair to landlords and tenants alike. Ultimately, any decision in relation to this issue is a matter for Government and it is my intention to bring final proposals to Government for decision as soon as possible.