Housing is now a desperate crisis. The rent cap, put in place by the Government in areas of housing pressure, is not helping the market. It is driving landlords away from the provision of social housing and is driving them into the Airbnb business. I ask the Taoiseach not to proceed any further and not to designate any other areas in the State for rent caps. It is having an adverse effect and is not helping the social housing market. I ask that the Taoiseach desists from imposing rent caps in any other part of the country.

Based on the recent numbers we have seen, rent caps appear to be working. Rent increases have moderated in the areas of rent pressure zones to which the rent caps apply, and the extension to new areas is based on the criteria as set out in the legislation. It does not apply to new landlords. If a person decides to let out his or her place or to buy somewhere with a view to renting it out, the rent cap does not apply to them. It may be the case that some people are leaving the rental market to get a better price on Airbnb, and perhaps that does happen, but there are a number of measures we shall examine between now and the budget to encourage more landlords to stay in the rental market and more people to enter the market. It is evident that once their rental property recovers in value, many people are selling on. This is part of the problem that causes a lack of supply.