I would like to address the House on the proposed new rent certainty legislation. We all know that many parts of the country and this city, in particular, are in the midst of a housing and rental crisis. Many of our clinics are attended by families one rent hike away from being out on the street and homeless. Arbitrary rent increases due to a complete failure by the Government to increase the supply of housing have caused a very serious rental bubble that directly affects the capital and many large urban areas. Fine Gael has ignored this crisis and always held the view that any interference with the rental market is untenable. In the last hours of this session, however, the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, presented ill-thought-out legislation and has attempted to railroad it through this House without any proper consultation. We all know that ill-thought-out and rushed legislation is never a good idea. We saw this with the disastrous creation of Irish Water in 2013 which, as we know, is the Achilles heel of the Government. The flippant manner of the introduction of the rent legislation is negligent when dealing with a serious policy issue that affects tens of thousands of people and that will have long-lasting effects on the housing market as a whole

Saying that, Fianna Fáil has always been a strong advocate of rent certainty. The legislation should have been introduced in a meaningful and considerate fashion in which long, medium and short-term effects were all considered. Fianna Fáil believes a 4% increase on top of other increases is far too high. We envisage increases of 1% to 2%, which would include wider geographical areas and a taxation policy that will actually encourage supply in order that once the housing market catches up, intervention in the rental market can be reviewed and dismantled.

Many struggling families are watching us in Leinster House this Christmas. I hope the Government can make serious efforts to break the impasse in order that families can take some comfort in the knowledge that they will not have to face any more rent hikes in 2017 and thereafter and in order that they can give their children the security they deserve this Christmas. Fianna Fáil is open to discussion. I hope this matter can be resolved by Christmas.

One of the most-----

There is nobody on the other benches.

They are never there when we need them, are they?

The Senator should appreciate that.

It would not be like the Fianna Fáil-----

The Senator should appreciate the priority she is being given.

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I feel very important.

I am here. I am an independent Independent.

Are you? Good. I am very happy for you.

One of the most important Bills to be produced since the election was initiated in the Seanad. It represented a great opportunity to show how a considered, thoughtful debate in this House could lead to better legislation, in this case to tackle one of the biggest problems facing the people. The Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill is in limbo. After hours of debate here and a long debate in the Dáil, the end of this great democratic process seems to be playing out between the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, and Deputy Barry Cowen. It is a mess. We do not even know this morning if it will be resuming at all. That shows that even when Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are in cahoots together, they still cannot get it right. The legislation was cobbled together far too fast, as was clear from the number of Government amendments to correct technical errors.

The only conclusion I can reach is that the Government was not serious about fixing the rental crisis until recently and now it is fumbling to get it over the line by Christmas. Homelessness and being without a home have a devastating affect on individuals and families. To lose a home for any reason is terrible but to lose it through theft is an outrage. Many people have lost a home through no fault of their own. They were victims of greed. They were told that they were not entitled to return to a tracker mortgage and were kept on higher rates. As many as 9,000 may have been charged higher rates than they should have been, with the full knowledge of the banks. In the case of AIB, 2,600 customers were involved; in the case of KBC, it was approximately 1,000; in the case of Ulster Bank, it was approximately 2,000; in the case of Bank of Ireland, it was approximately 1,800; and in the case of Permanent TSB, it was approximately 1,372. In response to a question from my colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty, about the number of people who had lost their homes as a result of that robbery, the Department of Finance conveyed the following information - 22 people lost their homes owing to Permanent TSB lying to them, while 14 lost homes owing to AIB stealing their money. These are strong words - "robbery" and "lying", but they are appropriate. We should have a debate in the new year on the behaviour of banks towards their customers and how it feeds into homelessness. We must maintain pressure and help the victims, which is what they are. We must also ensure such robbery never happens again.

I wish to follow on from Senator Rose Conway-Walsh's remarks. It is shocking what we are seeing in the Dáil Chamber today. The fight is causing greater uncertainty as we move into the Christmas period. I read this morning that people who are homeless are being exposed to violence, drug taking, mould, damp, bed bugs, scabies, blood stained mattresses, rats and abuse. It is disgraceful that coming up to Christmas there is such uncertainty when people are being evicted and thrown out of their homes into homelessness. I hope business in the Dáil will resume soon and that the Bill will be debated, amendments will be agreed to and some degree of certainty will be afforded to people as we come up to Christmas.

I have been very critical of what is being termed "new politics". Very few decisions have been made during the Government's term in office. We have had committees, studies and the Citizens' Assembly, but we have had very little legislation. That is the case for one clear reason. When the Government tries to make a decision, it must bring Fianna Fáil along with it. Fine Gael was re-elected into office and its members got the cars, but Fianna Fáil got the keys. Unfortunately, Fianna Fáil, as we saw from earlier contributions, has a record of driving the car off the cliff and crashing it. It has taken us seven to eight years to recover. If we are serious about new politics, let us put the rent certainty issue to the House. We should let the Bill be amended and allow contributions to be made on the floor of the House, but let us have legislation. I will accept the democratic decision of both Houses. The Taoiseach came to the Seanad at my request to talk about new politics. He said he would look forward to being back in the House before Christmas. I put the Leader on notice that I expect the Taoiseach to be in this House next Tuesday.

Go away.

No, I will not go away. The Taoiseach made a commitment to do so. He has given 100% support to the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, for a possible withdrawal of the legislation. The country needs leadership. There is a housing crisis and a need to deal with the rental crisis, especially in the rent hot spot that is Dublin. A 4% increase is a very clear signal to landlords to increase rents by 4%. That would have enormous knock-on effects across many areas, not just for people who are in private rented accommodation but also those who are in receipt of the housing assistance payment, HAP, and rent allowance because one can guarantee that landlords who have tenants in receipt of rent allowance will also increase rents by 4%, as will those with tenants who receive the HAP. Once the leases come up for renewal, the rent will be increased by 4%.

We must be serious about new politics. The names who annoy me are always the same. Deputy Micheál Martin was a member of the previous Administration.

There are not as many Labour Party names around the place as there were previously. When the party was in government for five years, it did not do much about it.

We have a former Taoiseach who was at the Cabinet table when the country crashed.

Where are the rest of the Labour Party names?

We have the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross, who wanted Sean Fitzpatrick at the table as Minister for Finance. Unfortunately, the Fianna Fáil spokesperson, Deputy Barry Cowen, has caused total uproar because of his lack of negotiation skills. Cowen is a familiar name that one can add to the list that contributed to the crash. We have a responsibility to call the Taoiseach into this House to make clear exactly what is happening on the issue of rent certainty.

Deputy Simon Coveney is the Minister.

The Leader can deal with the matter later.

The Minister went to the Taoiseach last evening. I put the Leader on notice that I will call for the Taoiseach to be present on Tuesday.