Cork rents and eviction ban
Deputy Gould warned of soaring rents in Cork and a looming wave of evictions when the ban ends. The Tánaiste said supply is the only real answer, pointed to housing delivery and cost-rental schemes, and said the issue is not simple.
Last week it was announced that rents in Cork had risen by over 15% in 2022 and the average monthly rent is now over €1,700. The Tánaiste is a Cork man, like me. There is no way any ordinary family can afford €1,700 a month for rent.
It has gone beyond the ordinary person. On top of that, dozens of families are in with me at the moment that I am trying to help. They are facing eviction in April, May and June when the eviction ban ends. I fear a tsunami of homelessness coming for the summer and I implore the Tánaiste to look at extending the ban on evictions to at least the end of the year to give those families some protection. When this ban on evictions ends, where will those people and families go?
Comment on this
On the broader housing issue, supply is the only answer. Last year we built more houses than we had targeted to build but we need to build more than that; we need to build over 30,000 houses. Likewise, in Cork, Cork City Council and the approved housing bodies have done well in the provision of social housing, and with affordable housing, which the local authority has engaged with. I mention some of the cost rental schemes, such as on Lancaster Quay, which are well below market rents, but we need more of those cost rental schemes, more affordable houses and more social houses to deal with the issue.
The eviction ban is being examined by Government and it will be addressed in March. It is not simple because we also have to maintain supply into the market and to retain existing landlords in the market-----
Comment on this
They are waiting for the Government to tell them.
Comment on this
But the supply will not be here by April.
Comment on this
For the last five years there has been a substantial exit from the market of property, which is a problem. That creates the problem of scarcity of housing that is available for rent. I am simply saying that we are examining it but it is not simple and we should not present it as a simple issue.