Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing Eoin Ó Broin TD has labelled the Minister’s reannouncement of his cost rental plans as “lacking the necessary ambition to tackle the rental crisis in our urban centres.”

Teachta Ó Broin said: “Minister O’Brien today reannounced his government’s cost rental plans from Budget 2021 – €35m for 350 cost rental units, down from the 400 units previously committed to in the 2021 Budget book.

“While the commitment to any increase in cost rental units is welcome, we need thousands of cost rental units not hundreds.

“This is what NESC, the ESRI and Housing Agency have been calling for, for years – affordable cost rental homes at scale.

“Another concern about the Minister’s announcement today is that the cost of the rents are too high.

“We need to see affordable cost rental homes available at between €700 and €900 per month, and the government must work harder to extend the loan period and reduce the cost of financing the units.

“I said when the Budget 2021 measures were announced in October that €35m was a miserly amount of money to spend.

“This is comparable to the funding that government is putting into subsiding the private rental sector via HAP, RAS, long-term leasing and rent supplement next year at over €1bn.

“I look forward to seeing the detail of the scheme when the Minister finally decides to publish his affordable housing legislation, which was promised nearly six months ago.”