Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing, Eoin Ó Broin TD, has today renewed his call for the government to immediately introduce an emergency three-year ban on rent increases for existing and new tenancies.

Speaking ahead of his party’s Dáil motion on the issue, which will be debated on Tuesday evening, Deputy Ó Broin added that the government must also put a full month’s rent back in every private renter’s pocket and increase supply of affordable properties to rent and buy.

Teachta Ó Broin said:

“Families, workers and young people deserve and need secure and affordable housing, and affordable rents.   

“Yet last week’s report from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) told us what we all knew – that there has been a shocking increase in rents across the state under the watch of this Government.

“Sinn Féin’s proposal to cut rents and freeze them would have prevented these increases.

“Instead, Government inaction saw new rents increasing by 11.6%, the highest annual increase since RTB records began in 2007, while rents for existing tenants rose by 5% state-wide.

“Fine Gael have been in Government for 12 years, and Fianna Fáil have been propping them up for seven years. But what these figures further underline is that neither party cares about renters.

“The housing crisis continues to go from bad to worse under their watch, and they have missed the social and affordable housing targets three years in a row.

“Rents are at an all-time high and rising, with standardised average new rents in Dublin increasing by €4716 and statewide by €3816 since this Government was formed.

“They tell us they are making an impact on housing. Unfortunately, that impact is just putting affordable housing and affordable rents further out of reach for people. 

“Is it any wonder that so many of our young people who cannot afford this level of rent are emigrating?

“The reality is that the longer Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are in government the worse things get. Nowhere has this been more evident than from this report that shows massive rent increases over the last 12 months.

“This week, Sinn Féin is calling on the Government to immediately introduce an emergency three-year ban on rent increases for existing and new tenancies.

“We are also telling them to put a full month’s rent back in every private renter’s pocket and to increase supply of affordable properties to rent and buy.

“These are immediate steps that they can take, but only a change of government, a change of housing policy and a change in Housing Minister will allow us to start cleaning up the mess of decades of bad Fiana Fáil and Fine Gael housing policy.”

Sinn Féin’s motion can be read here.