Before calling Deputy McDonald, I welcome to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery the Canadian ambassador, H.E. Dennis King, who is on a scheduled visit. Although I spoke to him earlier this morning, I take a moment to convey from us all our heartfelt sympathy following the tragic incident that occurred yesterday in British Columbia. The ambassador should know that the victims, the injured, their families and the whole community of Tumbler Ridge are in our thoughts and prayers. I thank him for being with us.

I echo the Ceann Comhairle's sentiments entirely. I also welcome to the Public Gallery the delegation from Donegal who are here today to save the flights accommodating cancer patients from the county. I understand they have gathered some 15,000 signatures for their petition over recent days. It is a disgrace that they have to come here to fight that fight but I commend them on their efforts and wish them every success. It is a decision that needs to be reversed.

The Government is set to throw renters to the wolves. Today, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will push through their rent hikes Bill and it will be devastating. Previously, in rent pressure zones, any increase was set at the rate of inflation or 2%, whichever was lower, but the Government is tearing that up and opening up the floodgates. From 1 March, it will allow rent for new tenancies to be reset to the full market rate. This is a hammer blow for ripped-off renters and a gift for big landlords and vulture funds. It will mean huge rent hikes, increased pressure for renters, more young people forced to choose between emigrating and moving home with their parents and, shamefully, it will mean more families and children pushed into homelessness. Up to 60,000 renters will be hit by a huge rent hike every single year. That is the hard truth.

Of course, the Government's defence of the Bill is that six-year tenancies will protect renters, but they will not. A total of 25% of tenancies in any given year are new tenancies, with people moving in and moving on all the time. Most tenancies last three and a half years, not six. The majority of renters will be hit quickly, and hit again and again, and very few will escape these hikes. It will be a nightmare for people who feel they have to stay put for fear of having to pay a hugely increased rent on a new tenancy. It will be a nightmare for students, apprentices, trainees, nurses, teachers and anyone who moves frequently for work or education. A total of 7,000 Irish medical professionals were registered to work in Australia last year. If the Government's Bill goes through, we will lose many more because the rent hikes will be off the charts.

In Galway city, for example, renters will fork out €5,292 more per annum. Here in Dublin, an extra €3,516 a year will be due. In Cork city, in the Taoiseach's neck of the woods, renters will pay an extra €3,336 a year. These increases are on top of already staggering rents. Nobody will be able to afford these increases; there is not a chance of it. It is straight out of the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael playbook to give a big payday to landlords and vulture funds and screw over ordinary tenants. If they gave a damn about renters at all, they would end this rip-off, not fuel it. They would ban rent increases and make rents affordable. Caithfear stop a chur le Bille Fhianna Fáil agus Fhine Gael chun an cíos a ardú. Níl ann ach bronntanas do na tiarnaí talún móra agus cuirfidh sé níos mó brú ar na tionóntaí.

Renters have known for a long time that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael simply do not have their backs. For over a decade now, they have allowed renters to be ripped off relentlessly and mercilessly but they are crossing a big red line here. A Bill to allow rents to be increased by €3,000, €4,000 or €5,000 will do incredible damage to people's lives. It cannot go ahead. I urge the Taoiseach to scrap the rent hikes Bill.

Hear, hear.

First, I acknowledge the presence of our good friend, H.E. Dennis King from Canada, and articulate our deepest sympathies to the people of Tumbler Ridge and to Canada more generally on the appalling murder of nine innocent victims yesterday. Our hearts, prayers and thoughts are with the entire community.

I also appreciate and welcome the attendance in the Public Gallery of people from Donegal in respect of the only flight from the county, which is subsidised substantially by the State. Obviously, the Minister for Transport does not get involved in the contract itself in terms of engaging with the contractor. Deputy Gallagher has been extremely active in pressing this issue with the Minister and me from its very first iteration. We are endeavouring to do everything we possibly can legally to try to respond to the needs of the people of Donegal, particularly those who travel for cancer treatment. The Government wants to do everything it possibly can within the law. We will continue to work on behalf of people to enable us to do that.

Regarding the rental reforms, I disagree fundamentally with the Deputy's proposition. In the first instance, we should remember the origin of the Bill was the Housing Commission. I recall Sinn Féin and others saying we ignored the Housing Commission. The commission recommended a reform of the rent pressure zones, coming up with an idea around reference pricing, which it did not detail, and so on. The Housing Agency was then asked to review the rent pressure zones, which it did, and it recommended the nature of the changes the Minister has introduced in terms of the reform of the rent pressure zones, which will give stability, clarity and certainty to renters and landlords into the future.

According to the census, there could be up to 500,000 people renting, from social renting to private tenancies, and up to 240,000 more private tenancies. Those existing tenancies will not be impacted by the Bill. That is the first thing I have to say. There are very important protections, which the Deputy has deliberately ignored, in respect of these measures. The six-year provision gives a security we never had before in this country and aligns us more with European rental systems in terms of giving tenants greater security and greater protection. Dr. Michael Byrne from the school of social policy, social work and social justice at UCD has noted that what is being missed in the current discussion is that the new legislation is designed, once established, to reduce the level of notices of termination. We are now moving to the ending of no-fault evictions.

The ESRI also recommended reform of the rental system. Everybody did, but someone has to make a decision here. The Minister and the Government have taken a decision-----

Oh you have made a decision. There is no question there.

-----to balance this in terms of greater security. It is unquestionably greater security for tenants, and the proof of the pudding is the number of property organisations and landlords wanting to end it or change our proposals. It is interesting that Sinn Féin is defending landlords and property owners who want to get rid of this, who do not want this to go through today. That is the bottom line. They do not want it-----

The bottom line is that more landlords-----

-----and Sinn Féin is trying to usher it in because it is interested in chaos, but supply is also important.

Thank you, Taoiseach. Time is up. Deputy McDonald to respond.

Scarcity of supply will be the most impactful thing on prices over the medium term and the Deputy knows that.

And who is responsible for-----

Sinn Féin has no interest in supply and has demonstrated no interest for quite some time.

Neither have you.

Just to explain to the Taoiseach, who clearly cannot grasp this very simple concept, there is no security of tenure if you cannot afford the rent.

Hear, hear.

That is it. When rents climb and climb and you just cannot make it month after month, that is not secure. That is a recipe for chaos in your life. That is a recipe for driving people to Dublin, Shannon or Cork airport to go thar sáile, far, far away to live their lives or, in the case of families, for driving them into homelessness. The Government has made a decision and it has made it very clear whose side it is on. It is on the side of very large corporate landlords; not just any common or garden landlord but the large ones and the vulture funds. They want market rate and the Government is giving it to them on a silver platter. I have told the Taoiseach that most tenancies do not last six years. They average at three and a half years and 25% of tenancies every single year are brand new. Will the Taoiseach answer that?

The Deputy could not care less about whether we provide more houses for the young people of this country because every policy-----

That is ridiculous. How many years in government now?

She is against everything. She is against every proposal. She is full of soundbite and shallow-----

Take responsibility for your own inaction.

The truth.

It is not the truth. I am telling you now where you are. You have opposed every single thing for the last four years in relation to housing here.

Look at the housing crisis that-----

And they have objected to it.

It opposed all the affordable schemes we came up-----

There are 16,000 people living in homelessness-----

-----with that were trying to help young people. The bottom line here, through the Chair, is that we need supply and we have to have a rental framework that facilitates investment and greater supply of housing.

We need Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael out on their ears.

What the Deputy is ignoring is that half a million people currently renting in Ireland today will not be impacted by these measures because there are a lot of protections built in here. A national rent protection zone is there at 2%. The ESRI recommended 4%, actually. These are modest measures designed to get clarity and stability but, above all-----

You will see.

-----to bring supply. If you do not have supply, prices will rise, without question, and Sinn Féin has never answered the question of supply.

You have never addressed supply.

You are just barren in terms of any ideas-----

We could tell you what was-----

I thank the Taoiseach. Time is up.

-----or any substance around that issue.

Time is up. Before I move to Deputy Cairns, we can have robust debate but I ask all Members that the debate be respectful with a mindfulness towards our Gallery being full.

The Gallery is fine. The people in the Gallery recognise the truth.