Housing rents and supply
Deputy Doherty criticised spiralling rents, falling homeownership and what he called the Government’s failure to intervene, arguing rents had risen 12%. The Tánaiste defended Government housing policy, said Sinn Féin’s proposals would cut supply and raise rents further, and accused Sinn Féin of opposing housing initiatives. The exchange deteriorated into interruptions and heckling before the Ceann Comhairle intervened to stop shouting.
On the Government's watch, not only are rents skyrocketing, in its report, the RTB is telling us that it has never seen such increases before and it has been recording this for 15 years. In the past year, rents have gone up by 12% while, at the same time, homeownership is falling. Does the Tánaiste know the average age of first-time buyers? It is 35 years. Why? It is because the Government's policies are failing them over and over again. How bad does it have to get before the Government recognises that it needs the type of intervention that Sinn Féin has been saying for years we need?
We need to ban rent increases. It is as simple as that, or is the Tánaiste satisfied that areas, such as my county and his county, are seeing double-digit rent increases year on year, that things are getting worse under Fianna Fáil and the Tánaiste and if he is still in government this time next year we will be standing here and saying how worse it is getting again? The Tánaiste keeps telling us we have turned a corner. For those renters, the corner they turned just got worse because a new renter in Dublin is forking out €2,300 more than he or she was this time last year. That is the consequences of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in government. Will the Government ban rent increases to make sure that what we are seeing does not continue in the time ahead?
Comment on this
It is clear that the situation would get far worse if Sinn Féin was in charge of housing.
Comment on this
Banning rent increases will not produce one additional house. In fact, it would reduce the number of houses available for rent in the market. That would be the impact of Sinn Féin's decision and its entire approach to the matter.
We need to support renters via alleviation through the tax rental credit that we have now but Sinn Féin's proposal-----
Comment on this
The rents are going upward more than that.
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-----would reduce the availability of housing, and if one reduces supply the rents will go up even further. Supply is the key to this.
Comment on this
The Government has not got the supply.
Comment on this
Sinn Féin would abolish it. Sinn Féin opposed the first home scheme. Sinn Féin opposed the grants around dereliction and vacancy.
Comment on this
Sinn Féin has opposed a hell of a lot. Sinn Féin has opposed new housing schemes across Dublin on State land because they did not contain social housing only. Sinn Féin did not want affordable housing on certain sites in Dublin and it opposed it.
Deputy Doherty has opposed a lot of things which brings me to the conclusion that his policies would make this situation far worse.
Comment on this
It cannot get much worse. Rents are through the roof. Never in the history of the State have we reached 12%.
Comment on this
It would disincentivise house building. It would get far worse. Sinn Féin's policies are overly negative in respect of housing.
