Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance, Pearse Doherty TD, has said that average new rents increasing by €6036 over the past four years, the lifetime of this government, is a damning indictment of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party’s abject failure to address the housing crisis.
Responding to the latest Daft.ie rental report, he said the colossal increases were a direct result of the government’s refusal to adopt Sinn Féin proposals over those past four years, and that households are now paying the price of that failure.
Deputy Doherty added that the only way to start fixing the housing crisis is with a change of government, Eoin Ó Broin Minister for Housing and the implementation of Sinn Féin’s alternative housing plan.
Teachta Doherty said:
“The latest Daft.ie rental report is yet another damning indictment of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party’s abject failure to address the housing crisis.
“This report, when compared to figures when this government came into office four years ago, shows that average new yearly rents across the state have increased by €6036 over the lifetime of the government. That is unforgivable.
“The report shows monthly rents rose for the 14th consecutive quarter – 3½ years of monthly increases – and that they now average €1,922 across the state.
“Limerick City saw the greatest rise, up 21% in the past year, while Cork and Galway both saw rent increases of over 10% in the same period.
“This didn’t have to happen. Sinn Féin has long argued for a ban on rent increases for three years and to take the pressure off renters by putting one month’s rent back into every private renter’s pocket.
“The government has failed to grasp the severity of the crisis, and refused to take on board Sinn Féin’s proposals. Households are now paying the price for that failure, and the result is housing and homeless crises spiralling out of control.
“Week after week, month after month we are presented with report after report highlighting the government’s failures in housing.
“Today’s Daft.ie report comes on the back of four damning housing reports in the past fortnight alone.
“Last week, the Parliamentary Budget Office found that over 115,000 households had an ongoing housing need last year, with a growing number of older people languishing on social housing waiting lists or relying on Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) to keep a roof over their head.
“The week previous, three independent reports were released by the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland, the Central Statistics Office and Savills highlighting sky-high house prices, chronic undersupply and the growing affordability challenge for working people looking to rent or buy a home.
“People are growing weary of these reports. Parents don’t need another report to tell them that their adult children living in their box rooms cannot afford a home.
“It is no way for our young people to live. No way to build your own life. No way to build a relationship. No way to build a family.
“What they need is a government that has the plan and the will to bring about the radical strategic reset in housing policy that the Housing Commission says is required.
“Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have shown that they are incapable and unwilling of fixing the housing crisis that they themselves created.
“The reality is that the only way to start fixing the housing crisis is with a change of government, Eoin Ó Broin Minister for Housing and the implementation of Sinn Féin’s alternative housing plan.
“That is the only plan that will deliver the tens of thousands of genuinely affordable homes that working people both need and deserve.”
