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Dáil
‹ Questions on Promised Legislation

Rent controls in strategy

Summary

Deputy Murphy asked whether rent controls would be included in the forthcoming rents strategy. The Taoiseach said he would not pre-empt details, but the strategy would focus on stability, certainty, and longer tenancies.

The Ceann Comhairle can take it that we will always indicate. My question relates to the housing Bill and to what the Taoiseach referred to as the comprehensive rents strategy. Is the Taoiseach saying that rent controls will be included in the comprehensive rents strategy which he proposes to introduce in the next few weeks? The Government needs to take a hard look at itself in terms of its housing strategy in light of, on the one hand, the highest ever annual increase in rents on record and, on the other hand, the massive increase in homelessness that was whispered out by the Department last week at the same time as only 237 social houses have been built. Is it the Government's intention to bring in rent controls and a ban on economic evictions and to seriously invest in building social houses?

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Enda Kenny The Taoiseach Fine Gael

The Minister has already outlined the figures in respect of returning voids to habitable use, to the impact of the funding provided to local authorities to purchase and build houses-----

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Enda Kenny The Taoiseach Fine Gael

-----and to the proposed comprehensive rents strategy. The rents strategy, the detail of which I do not wish to pre-empt, will, as I outlined this morning, refer to stability and greater certainty in terms of rents and renting by landlords for longer periods to give families a greater degree of security and certainty.

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