The people impacted by the mica scandal are outside the gates of Leinster House and have been every day for months. They are pursuing justice as their homes crumble around them. Yet, as often is the case, the Government's suggestions regarding a redress scheme were selectively leaked last night before the families involved even had sight of the working group report. That is completely unacceptable. Some families did not have a decent night's sleep last night because of worry about whether that leak was accurate and, if it was, what that might mean for them. These families must be treated with respect. Instead of leaks and speculation in the days to come, the Government must provide clarity, move swiftly and do the right thing in respect of 100% redress.

Tá costais chónaithe imithe ar fiáin, le costais fuinnimh, cúraim leanaí agus tithíochta á ardú achan lá. Bhí díomá orm agus mé ag léamh na tuairisce a d'fhoilsigh an Bord um Thionóntachtaí Cónaithe ar maidin. Ta boilsciú de os cionn 10% i naoi gcontae agus os cionn 4% in achan contae eile. Tá a fhios agam go gcreideann an Tánaiste gur cheart ioncam na dtiarnaí talún a chosaint thar chosaint a thabhairt dá dtionóntaí ach ní thig le hoibrithe agus le teaghlaigh mórán eile de seo a ghlacadh. Tá réiteach ann, réiteach a bhféadfaí a chur i gcrích sa bhuiséad i mbliana, is é sin cosc a chur ar ardú cíosa agus creidmheas cánach a thabhairt do thionóntaí le hairgead a choinneáil sna pócaí atá acu féin.

The cost-of-living crisis is out of control. Every day we see the costs of energy, fuel, childcare and housing go up. Nowhere is that more obvious than in the rental market. This was laid bare in the rental report for quarter 2 published this morning by the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB. Its findings are some of the grimmest for some time. It will cause further concern and anxiety to renters and those stuck in the rental market. Nine counties have experienced double-digit inflation in the cost of rent. All other counties have seen inflation of over 4%, with many approaching 10%. Despite all the lofty and ill-thought-out pronouncements from the Government about budget day spending, the fact remains that the Tánaiste's Government has no plan to put a halt to these runaway rents. That is the reality.

I know the Tánaiste believes that landlords should be prioritised above, and that their incomes are more important than, renters being able to have a decent life, but I do not think even he could deny renters are being fleeced and landlords are milking this situation, based on the figures published by the RTB. Runaway rents must stop. They must be halted, and the choice lies with the Tánaiste and his Government. The budget is just two weeks away. Renters must be given a guarantee their rents are not going to increase in the coming years. In fact, they need their rents to decrease. Therefore, if this Government is serious about protecting renters, it would ban rent increases for three years for all new and existing tenancies. What the Government should do in the budget, and I am asking if it will do this, is to introduce a refundable tax credit for renters that will reduce the cost of rent and put a month's rent back into the pockets of workers and families living in rented accommodation.

I thank the Deputy. Regarding the mica issue he mentioned, I have not seen that report, so I cannot confirm whether what is being reported is correct. I can state the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, thanked the members of the working group at yesterday's meeting for its involvement and engagement in the process in recent months. He acknowledged, in particular, the stress and hardship faced by affected homeowners and ensured them enhancements would be made to the scheme. The working group is going to submit its final report to the Minister today, 30 September 2021. The Minister, along with the Taoiseach, the Ministers, Deputies Eamon Ryan, Donohoe and Michael McGrath, and I, with input from the Attorney General, will then consider the proposals with a view to them being presented to Cabinet. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, intends to bring a memorandum to Cabinet in the coming week.

Turning to the Deputy's earlier comments, what I believe is what I say and what he said is not what I believe. A classic tactic of populist politicians is to claim their opponents believe something and then argue with it, to put words into somebody's mouth and then criticise them for it. It is a classic tactic of a populist politician. I want to put on the record that that is what Sinn Féin is engaging in as a party. Its members tell people what they believe and think, and then they tell them how awful they are. That is rubbish, it is rubbish politics, and it is something the party engages in all the time.

Regarding rents, they are too high in Ireland. That is my view and the Government's. High rents have an impact on people's finances, on the standard of living they can have, on their well-being and on the labour market. High rents make it harder to get staff and push up labour costs, and that has a general impact on the economy. For that reason, the Government has introduced a rent freeze in real terms. That means people will not see rent increases greater than the rate of inflation. It was the policy of Sinn Féin, before the party decided it was against it. The policy has now been introduced. It means people will see much lower rent increases in the year to come and, it is hoped, no rent increases at all.

The crisis we face in the rental market is not just one of affordability; it is also one of availability. We need to make sure we do not end up in a situation whereby fewer properties are available for people to rent. We have seen an exodus of landlords and property owners from the rental market. Essentially, they are selling up and issuing people with notices to quit. That is not good either. Therefore, we must ensure that whatever we do deals with the affordability issue, which is the cost of rent, and the availability issue. The Deputy will have seen plenty of examples of 50 to 200 people queuing up just to see one rental property. We do not want to make the availability issue worse. We must bear that in mind in any decision we make.

What can we do about it? Cost rental is a big part of the Housing for All strategy. I refer to the Government investing in that model and providing homes for people to rent. Those who do not qualify for social housing do qualify for cost rental. The first units are now available. The roll-out will ramp up considerably in the next few years. It is an important intervention by the Government in the rental market. The Land Development Agency, LDA, a State developer, has also now been established. It is building properties for people to rent and to buy and for social housing. A major ramp-up is being witnessed in the level of social housing being provided by the Government. Only 600 such units were provided in 2016 and 6,000 units in the year before the pandemic, but that is going to rise to 9,000 or 10,000 units. How does that help? It provides housing for people on the social housing list, and that frees up properties for other people to rent or to buy.

Those are the interventions that the Government is undertaking: a rent freeze in real terms, linking rents to inflation, cost rental, the Government providing more rental properties for people to rent, the LDA increasing supply and, crucially, a social housing programme, the biggest in the history of the State, which will ensure we free up properties for people to rent or to buy.

I am not interested in the Tánaiste's snipes against me. It does not interest me. For years, we have been raising the issue of rent being out of control and for years the Tánaiste has stood up in his seat and given different excuses. Forget about what Sinn Féin is saying, and just listen to what the RTB is saying. Rent increased in the past year by 15.5% in Kilkenny, 16.1% in Clare, 15.9% in Longford and 17% in Leitrim. The Tánaiste can talk about real rent freezes and so on and so forth. Inflation is running at 3%. We told the Tánaiste that when the Government introduced its policy. It means that rent costs can continue to increase by 3%.

The Tánaiste talks about rent caps in recent years of 4%, yet every single county has breached them year on year. He has been in government for more than ten years, he has been Taoiseach for a large portion of that time, and yet in Dublin today, if you are renting an average three-bedroom house in the city where he lives, you are paying €2,105. What I, Sinn Féin and, more so, renters are saying to the Tánaiste is that he needs to prioritise them and their cost of living over the income of the landlords.

I thank the Deputy. His time is up.

The Government must freeze rents and put a month's rent back into people's pockets by means of a refundable tax credit.

I am not interested in Deputy Doherty's swipes against me either, but I am going to call out populism when I see it. It is a classic tactic of populist politicians from the far left and the far right and everything in between, all around the world, to display this tactic. You tell your opponents what they think and believe, and then you tell them how awful they are for believing or thinking those things, but what you actually do is you fabricate quotes and you put words in people's mouths. That is the classic tactic of a populist politician. Deputy Doherty needs to know he is that, and people need to know that he is that.

Regarding being in government for the past ten years, again the Deputy speaks as if Sinn Féin is not an establishment party on this island. Sinn Féin has been in office in the past 20 years on this island, longer than my party, Fianna Fáil or the Green Party have been. Sinn Féin is an establishment party, a party of government on this island for most of the past 20 years. Sinn Féin increased the rents in Northern Ireland.

Deputies should please not interrupt.

I know Deputy McDonald asked this question yesterday but, with respect, it is Leaders' Questions, and the Tánaiste did not answer any question. I put forward the facts from the RTB-----

The Chair does not have the authority to direct the Tánaiste or the Taoiseach to give any Deputy the answer he or she may require.

It makes a mockery out of Leaders' Questions if the Tánaiste is going to involve himself in diversion every day.

I am sorry, but Deputy Doherty's time is up. I call Deputy Shortall, co-leader of the Social Democrats.