“Abject failure” in housing market says Labour Senator

Labour Senator Annie Hoey said hardworking renters are being “squeezed” by what she calls a “tight rental market.”

Senator Hoey said “there has been an abject failure by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to address the rental crisis which is borne out by the statistics published by Daft.”

A recent report by Daft shows that the average rent in Dublin is €2,344, a figure that Senator Hoey says it “not viable for so many workers.”

“We know high rent prices are disproportionately impacting younger generations and families. People are trapped in an endless rental market nightmare as they can’t afford to save for a deposit whilst keeping up with monthly payments.”

“While rents have “stabilised”, the issue for renters is it remains utterly unaffordable. Coupled with poor supply, renters remain at the mercy of landlords.”

“Labour is urging Government to wake up and implement Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill which would, among other measures, introduce a transparency register so prospective renters can see what rents previous tenants were charged.”

The Senator said that increasing transparency in the market should be a priority of the Government, saying that there is currently a lack of transparency in the housing market not just in Dublin, but nationwide.

“Outside of the capital, it’s staggering to see the lack of rental homes available for renters, and the huge annual increase in rents in places like Galway, Limerick and Waterford. Rents are rising nationwide, but so too is the cost of living, the price of groceries, meanwhile wages just aren’t keeping pace.”

“We’re coming up to the two-year anniversary of Housing for All. The crisis we find ourselves in when it comes to the rental market demands a step change in policy approach with a renewed focus on the rental sector.”

“In response to Parliamentary Questions put down by Labour leader Ivana Bacik, the Minister for Housing confirmed that no plans are in place to reintroduce the eviction ban this winter. This is an utter failure of politics.”

“Homelessness continues to rise and the least this Government could do is provide certainty to all renters that they will have a roof over their heads this winter,” she said.

Senator Hoey, who recently attended a vigil to commemorate over 400 homeless people who have perished on the streets of Dublin, said the failure to re-introduce the rental ban will have “dire consequences.”

“Renters are not transient, they are not just young. Renters are single households, families, older people. They must have access to affordable, quality accommodation with security of tenure. This report is another reminder of Government’s failure to protect them.”