Bríd Smith condemns 'sex for rent' and faults government's housing record
Bríd Smith spoke in support of the bill banning 'sex for rent', welcoming its introduction and condemning landlords who exploit vulnerable people. She argued the practice is driven by a long-running housing crisis and accused the government of hypocrisy for backing the ban while opposing measures like rent controls and a right to housing.
Support for the bill and moral outrage
She welcomed the bill as absolutely needed, thanked the Social Democrats for bringing it forward and said no decent person would shed a tear for landlords who advertise sex for rent, calling them 'creeps of the highest order' and expressing moral outrage.
Historical examples of exploitation
She recalled research from the 1980s carried out by her sister for the Department of Health, which found exploitation of homeless women in B&B settings, often involving women with high needs and addiction, and said the same exploitative behaviour is resurfacing now that it is being openly advertised.
Critique of government's housing policy
She criticised the government for supporting a ban on sex for rent while refusing to back measures that would address root causes - including rent freezes or controls, legislation for affordable housing, taking derelict properties back into public control and enshrining a right to housing in the constitution.
Meetings with funds and policy consequences
She argued the housing crisis has been perpetuated by successive policies that prioritise developers, vulture funds, bankers and profit - including meetings with such interests and deregulation - and said the bill is a consequence of a failed housing policy that must be tackled alongside the ban on sex for rent.
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As has been said, we fully support the bill and welcome its introduction, it is absolutely needed and I do not think any decent person in the country would shed a tear about any landlord who would advertise sex for rent or engage in that practice. As Mick said, they are creeps of the highest order and everybody in this House is morally outraged by this practice and I want to thank the Social Democrats for bringing the bill forward. Having said that, it is not the first time in my lifetime that I have heard of this practice. In the 1980s my sister conducted research for the Department of Health on the health needs of homeless women and in interviewing several hundred of them she found that there was exploitation of this nature of very vulnerable, usually women with high needs and addiction in homeless circumstances which in them days were usually B&B settings and that same exploitation was taking place. But this is, if you like, notched up because it is being advertised as such and it is also happening when you think about it in the year 2022 when Ireland is supposed to have progressed and moved forward, we are having the most obscene practices bringing us back towards those dark ages and that is why we welcome the bill. But what I want to talk about, Minister, is the government support of the bill, which is obviously something you are going to have to do. Everybody here is outraged by the practice, as I have said, and you have to support it. But I wish you would see the deep irony and contradictions in your position of supporting a bill that bans sex for rent when you do not support other measures which would have undermined us reaching such a point. In other words, you have brought us into this, this government, previous governments have brought us into this massive housing crisis that has gone on now for nearly a decade. And at the same time that you support this bill, you refuse to support a bill that would freeze or control rents. You refuse to support a bill that would deliver affordable housing. You have refused to support bills that demanded that we take derelict properties back into control. You have blocked bills to have a right to housing enshrined in the constitution. It is so hypocritical because the root cause of this problem is the housing crisis, not just creepy landlords who will do anything to take advantage of vulnerable women and others. It is not just that, it is at the root of it is the housing crisis that is perpetuated by this government. So we would like to see a bit of consistency. Yes, support the Social Democrats bill, but yes, deal with the housing crisis finally, instead of perpetuating it and blocking every progressive measure that has brought to you from this side of the house to try and deal with the root cause of the crisis. Instead of that, we have had a government that has had multiple meetings with vulture funds, with cougar funds, with developers, with bankers. What can we do? How far can we bend for you? How many laws can we change? How many regulations can we reduce in order to facilitate your profits and your development? That has been the approach to housing and at the same time running down the provision of public and affordable and social housing throughout this state. So this bill, if you like, is a consequence of a failed housing policy of this and previous governments and it needs to be urgently dealt with as well as fully supporting this bill today. The bill today. Click on it and be emailed us. Vaults.
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