In support of the motion, I have to say the laissez-faire policies the Government is pursuing has led to this. If the Minister of State has read history, which I am sure he has, in the 1840s, mass evictions and mass starvation was pioneered by Sir Charles Trevelyan, a British autocrat. This time, it is being pioneered by the Minister of State's party, Fianna Fáil----

Sentiment score: 0.37

----- with hands-off rent and people charging whatever they can get. The more who are evicted, the more homelessness and the bigger the demand, the higher the rents landlords can charge. It is happening, and the situation continues to get worse. In Laois, rents are sky high. Notices to quit are up, homelessness is up, house purchase prices are up, and what the Government has done is given a charter to landlords and developers. The Government's changes in rent rules have made the situation worse, screwing workers and families. I have an increasing number of constituents coming to me, as I am sure others have had, traumatised and at their wit's end. It is worse for renters, the homeless and house buyers. On top of the sharp rent increases in the past decade in Laois, of course, we have another huge jump now. The rent for a four-bedroom house has gone up by 12.5% in the past 12 months to €2,500 per month. That is what they are being advertised for. A three-bed is up 10% in the past year, with tenants now being charged almost €2,000 on average, and wait for this one: rent for a two-bedroom house has gone up a whopping 34% in one year. The Government's laissez-faire policies have allowed this to happen. Low- and middle-income workers simply cannot afford that. House prices are completely out of control and have literally gone through the roof. A standard house in Portlaoise being advertised on one estate is now €530,000. That is not the centre of London, but the centre of Portlaoise. Lack of availability of affordable homes is one of the factors driving that. Homelessness continues to increase. A shortage of homes and accommodation means that in Laois, families are being sent to Tipperary and other counties away from vital services and schools. We need urgent solutions for low- and middle-income families. We need an immediate ban on evictions of tenants who are complying with their tenancy agreements. What is wrong with that? We need an emergency ban on rent increases that are already sky high, an increase in the delivery of cost-rental homes by local authorities and not for-profit approved housing bodies so that people have secure lifetime tenancies, and reform the affordable purchase housing scheme. That needs to be reformed, along with increasing the supply of social housing. Respectfully, the Government cannot continue like this. This is getting worse.

Sentiment score: -0.13