Gino Kenny Demands Rent Control to Stop Spiralling Rents

Minister, I pose this question, and obviously the Bill poses the question, what's wrong with rent control? What's wrong in making rent in relative terms affordable for renters? What's wrong in stopping a market-led approach to spoiling rents? And because of spoiling rents, we now have a generation that is not only locked out, but a generation that is seeking emigration. Many young people now are looking at the alternatives. They can't find a place to rent, and now they're faced possibly emigrating. And that's not a good thing whatsoever. These people are well-educated, want to play a role in society, but because of the dynamic, because of the situation, they're forced to leave their home. The crazy situation we're facing, Minister, for example, in Dublin Midwest, hundreds of people will go for one particular house, right? This is not, you know, this is not kind of just in isolation terms, this is across the country. And if you have access to hap to get a bit, you will not get near one of them houses. In fact, even if you have homeless hap, the chances of getting one of them houses is extremely difficult. If you do, you're probably facing with a top-up in relation to the homeless hap. So it's kind of, you see how it's spiralling and it's inflationary. You have a situation a number of weeks ago in Lucan, where a house, a two-bedroom apartment came available for 2,300 euros. Because there was so much demand for that particular apartment, the people that owned that apartment, the price went up the next day by 150 euros. Now, how can that be justified? You know, this is an incredible amount of money that people just simply can't afford and are just, are being set aside and humiliated in some ways in relation to access to homes. And we have to talk about, obviously, the situation that the country finds itself in, in relation to policy of lack of public homes, of lack of affordable homes, a lack of, you know, rental accommodation. And this continues to happen, Mr. And this is down to policy. And everything, there's a reason for everything. And the reason why we have a housing situation that's so dire, and that's why, you know, 11,000 people find themselves in emergency accommodation, is down to policy. It's not some sort of natural phenomenon. It's down to policy of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, particularly Fine Gael. They've been in power for the last 12 years. They have, you know, they have overseen this disaster that has happened. And, you know, if it was a business, they would be thrown out of their business. So, Minister, I think the system is broken. I really do. Not only for renters, but also those that are on the council list and those that want to buy. Rents, as I said, in Dublin and across the country are spiraling out of control. And what's wrong with controlling them? I mean, the rent pressure zones are kind of a cosmetic kind of approach to controlling rents. You need proper rent control. And this has happened in other countries and other cities where they have controlled the rent. Because if it's market-led, then obviously, you know, it will seek the most profit from that particular house. There's nothing radical about rent control. It's quite rudimentary and quite mainstream, if you ask me. It's asking a certain area in a certain part of the country where it can be controlled, where it's reasonable, where it's affordable, where corporate landlords and landlords don't completely profiteer from housing. And once that happens, Minister, if you allow that to happen, a market-led approach, we will continue to have this situation across the country, not only for around us, but for everybody across the board. Thank you.