85. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures he is taking to address rent increases in Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48101/26]

Sentiment score: 0.01

What measures is the Minister taking to address rent increases in Kerry? We recently saw a three-bedroom house in the town of Tralee with an asking price of €2,400 per month. In the public sector, increased rents are being asked for by local authorities. However, because services have been stripped from the local municipal district, in houses 11 to 16 in Mountain View in Balloonagh Estate in Tralee, sewage is backing up and coming into the houses and the local authority does not even have a jetting machine to allow it to address the issue. It is reliant on contractors who are coming in from other areas to address the issue. That is not fair when people are continuing to pay their rents.

Sentiment score: 0.06

There might have been the highest number built in the history of the State, as the Minister said, but it happened at a time when the population was way higher than it was in the 1960s and 1950s. The Minister said the answer is to increase supply but, unfortunately, what we have seen is an awful lot of extra houses in Adamstown and on the quays in Dublin. The supply in County Kerry is way behind. The result is that renters in Kerry have seen increases in the region of €3,000 annually, which is a 26% jump. It is a body blow for people whose rents are increasing when, unfortunately, their wages are not increasing by the same amount to match those increases. If current tenancy trends continue, the average tenancy will be three and a half years, with 25% of tenancies being new each year. The vast majority of renters in the private sector will be swept into this market reset. The problem is that people in County Kerry are on waiting lists. They are waiting for supply for ten, 12 and sometimes 14 years. The town councils still have not been restored and the guaranteed increase in supply is not there. People are waiting and rents are increasing because supply is so low.

Sentiment score: -0.16

Unfortunately, I have not heard the Minister say anything about what needs to be done. Does the Government have any plans to cut rents? Has it plans to ban increases or protect the renters who are faced with big rent increases? The Minister has not mentioned anything about students. They are going to have to pay the market rent from September. That is another tax on their education. We all know that Munster Technological University, MTU, in Tralee and other colleges around the country do not have the power to borrow and are not building their own accommodation, which could be more affordable. The Minister mentioned the affordable homes scheme but there are practically no affordable homes in Kerry. It is ridiculous to talk about the affordable homes scheme in Kerry because there are none. There was practically zero emergency accommodation in 2011 but there are now huge amounts, catering for approximately 14,000 or 15,000 people. Since the town councils were abolished, there has been a concentration of emergency accommodation in Tralee, which is creating an imbalance. Everywhere that the Government has tried to address housing it has made a hames of it, for people starting off in life and those at the end of their days in nursing homes.

Sentiment score: -0.13