I want to bring the House's attention to a PRTB rent index study published today, which shows that rents nationally are rising by about 5.8%, but in Dublin they are rising by about 10%.

Just in case anybody believes this is a Dublin problem, a more recent survey, by Daft.ie, shows that while rents rose in Dublin by almost 15%, they rose in Cork by 7.9%, in Galway by 7.2% and in Limerick by 6.4%. Many of the counties surrounding Dublin are also experiencing very significant rent increases. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has indicated his willingness and intention to introduce a model of rent certainty, in other words, a model that will limit the extent of rent increases in the rental sector. We already know that people are losing their homes because they cannot afford to pay rent increases. We are now seeing a new category of people, namely, the one third of those in the market who believed they would be buying their own homes but who, because of Central Bank rules, now face renting for a very long time to come and may never have the option of moving into their own homes. May we have the Minister in the House to talk about the future of rented housing? This is a very important debate that we need to have. Some 20% of the nation are living in the rental sector and have little or no security. They are subjected to very significant rent increases. I would like to expand the debate to talk about the future of home ownership. Historically, Ireland has had a very high level of home ownership, but it has dropped dramatically. We have Generation Rent but possibly Generation Lost, a generation for whom the option of home ownership may be lost for the entirely of their lives. We need a broad debate on housing and home ownership and to focus specifically on a strategy for rented housing.

I very much agree with the previous speaker, Senator Aideen Hayden. I support Senator Thomas Byrne's request that we use this Chamber, in so far as possible, to activate, rather than reactivate, a very genuine holistic debate on the housing crisis. It is a matter on which I have spoken frequently in recent months. We were promised that the Minister would attend, but we need much more than a once-off session. We in the Seanad are perhaps best placed politically to have this urgent debate. Society and the Administration seem fixated on the importance of the construction industry, developers and bringing them in to meet Ministers and Taoisigh. We seem fixated on the traditional model of home ownership, but we must consider what is happening all around us and in Europe. There was a very interesting radio documentary recently on rental arrangements in Germany and France, where tenants have very secure and absolute rights of tenancy. Many people make a very happy choice to remain in rented accommodation for five to 20 years. Therefore, we need to start thinking holistically about this area. The Seanad Chamber, the Seanad Public Consultation Committee or a variation thereof could provide the ideal mechanism for having that debate. The issue certainly needs to be brought to the top of the political agenda.

I referred during the week to the confusion about the number of available housing units and the availability of land. I had a specific question, but there was absolutely no clarity from the Minister. We are hearing statistics about millions of euro ready to be invested and a new social housing programme, but there are many tens of thousands of people looking for houses simultaneously. There are tens of thousands of vacant units across the country and it is an absolute shame socially and a political disgrace that we cannot marry these problems into a solution. Therefore, since nothing is happening in the other House on this issue, I suggest to the Deputy Leader that we try to run with the ball and begin a very comprehensive debate on it. There is no better expert than the Deputy Leader's colleague, Senator Aideen Hayden. Many of us would like to join her and add our views. We should wait no longer.