I move: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — the Government is fully committed to tackling high rents and ensuring an increase in the supply of affordable high-quality rental accommodation through continued significant capital investment including cost rental and other means and in a manner that respects the security of tenure for renters by ensuring equity and fairness for landlords and tenants; — comprehensive reviews of the private rental market and of the Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) rent control system were undertaken in 2024 and 2025, which assessed the rental market generally, the operation of RPZs since their introduction, their impact on the market and relevant stakeholders, the retention of landlords and attracting new investment; — the review of RPZs by the Housing Agency involved comprehensive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, including investors, representatives of landlord and tenant advocacy groups, academics and the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB); — the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026 came into effect on 1st of March, 2026, introducing a new national rent control for all tenancies, which limits rent increases to inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) up to a maximum of 2 per cent, for new build apartments and student-specific accommodation, however, rent increases are capped at the level of inflation CPI only, these changes were introduced to promote greater investment in the rental market and to increase the supply of rental properties, the Act also provides significant improvements in security of tenure for renters; — while February saw a sharp increase in Notices of Terminations (NoTs), the RTB confirmed that the trend is moderating, with an 18 per cent increase for March compared to March 2025 but a 39 per cent decrease from February 2026; — to offer greater protection to tenants, rolling six-year tenancies of minimum duration (TMD) apply for new tenancies created for the first time between parties on or after 1st of March, 2026, this means a new tenancy that continues for six months becomes a tenancy of unlimited duration, with rolling six year TMDs, providing real security of tenure for tenants; — nationally, registered private tenancies rose by 2.44 per cent annually to 246,477 in Q1 2026; — the number of private landlords rose by 1.3 per cent annually to 105,847, indicating increased participation in the rental market, there is no exodus of landlords from the market, and the rental sector continues to show resilience; — Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030, recognises that the rental market is an important element of a well-functioning housing system, it contains a suite of measures to support domestic and international investment in the delivery of new rental properties, in particular the supply of new apartments; — Ireland is facing a shortage of rental homes, especially apartments, recent reforms to the rental market aim to encourage investment and development, which will encourage the building of new rental apartments, help slow down rent increases and moderate rent levels over time; — Government has significantly increased resources allocated to the RTB to meet the demands of a modern rental sector; — further Government measures introduced to support renters include the increase in the tax credit for renters under Budget 2025 to a maximum of €1,000 for each renter in a household, Budget 2026 extends the Rent Tax Credit, which was due to expire at the end of 2025, for a further three years, to the end of 2028; and — the increase in the thresholds for access to Cost Rental homes, which was increased from €53k net to €66k net in Dublin and €59k outside Dublin, in July 2023; acknowledges that increased supply is key to meeting demand and moderating the pent-up pressures in the private rental sector and welcomes that: — there has been an unprecedented level of delivery of new-build social homes, with 2025 representing the largest number of new build social homes constructed since the foundation of the State; — the new housing plan Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030, is focussed on putting in place the conditions to enable delivery of a minimum of 300,000 new homes; — the plan includes a commitment to deliver 72,000 social homes and provide 90,000 affordable supports to help people secure a home of their own; — it seeks to significantly accelerate delivery of new homes by focusing on activating land and creating the optimal environment to encourage housing activity, including regulatory reform, tax incentives and the largest ever capital investment in the history of the State, with €275 billion invested in infrastructure over ten years through the National Development Plan; — to accelerate future supply, Budget 2026 included a suite of taxation measures aimed at stimulating the supply of new apartments including a reduced Value-Added Tax rate and an enhanced Corporation Tax deduction for apartment construction costs; — the revised National Planning Framework, published in April 2025, is a major step forward in this regard, and will help increase capacity and accelerate home building across the country; and — the delivery of 300,000 homes by 2030 will however require an estimated €20 billion in development finance each year, a significant portion of which will need to come from investment by the private sector to support home ownership and a well-functioning private rental market; recognises that considerable progress has been made, including: — almost 149,000 new homes have been delivered over the past five years, this compares with 83,267 in the previous five-year period and just 29,217 in the five years before that; — a total of 36,284 new dwellings were completed in 2025, an increase of 20 per cent year on year; — the unprecedented level of investment Government has committed will bring about a very significant scale up in the delivery of housing over the coming years, address the needs of the most vulnerable in our communities, making buying and renting homes more affordable and support the development of villages, town and cities across the country; and — the delivery of 300,000 homes by 2030 will however require an estimated €20 billion in development finance each year, a significant portion of which will need to come from investment by the private sector to support home ownership and a well-functioning private rental market; and agrees that continued implementation of Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030, represents the most appropriate response to deal with the housing challenges which Ireland is now facing.". I welcome the opportunity to respond to the motion before us this evening, which the Government does not support. Our position is set out in the amendment I have moved. I am thankful to have the opportunity to highlight how Sinn Féin’s policy suggestions would exacerbate the challenges we face when it comes to housing delivery in this country. It is simply not credible to suggest that this Government is in any way lacking in its commitment to housing. The proof of that is in the figures. Over €9 billion will be spent by the State this year across all delivery streams. Over 36,000 homes were delivered last year, up 20% on the previous year. Over 9,000 new-build social homes were delivered in 2025, the highest output on record. There have been more than 86,000 housing commencements over the past two years. In the first three months of this year alone, there have been 8,400 commencements; that is up 184% year on year. Planning momentum is also strong with 8,000 permissions granted in the past three months of 2025; up 20%. Sinn Féin is calling in this motion for a no-fault eviction ban. That is exactly what this Government has done. No-fault evictions are banned for tenancies created after 1 March 2026 in the case of large landlords. In this motion Sinn Féin is also calling for a rent freeze, which sounds great for a soundbite on social media. However, we do not have to look too far from Ireland to see the negative impact such a measure has had. When such a rent freeze was introduced in Berlin, within 12 months rental supply dropped by 50% before it was ruled unconstitutional by the supreme court there. When we debate these topics, it is important that we do not mislead and present measures which have been proven to be a failure in other jurisdictions as some sort on panacea in the Irish context. The very last thing we need in this country is to see a 50% reduction in rental supply. What the Government has sought to so with the rental reform changes which were introduced earlier this year is to strike a balance between improving security of tenure for tenants while encouraging private investment in the rental market. The fundamental cause of rising rents is insufficient supply. One sure thing is that Sinn Féin’s policies would see supply of homes drop significantly. Its half-baked suggestions would only worsen the situation, not to mention its attempts to hoodwink the public when it says that it would boost housing figures despite the fact that some of its TDs, including its party leader, have objected to thousands of homes across Dublin. It is important to remember how the rent reform changes came about. The Housing Commission, the recommendations of which were supported by Sinn Féin, said that the Government needed to reform the rental market. It said that reform was needed to balance the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords through a programme of legislative and regulatory reforms to make the private rental sector more attractive to both parties and to regulate market rents fairly and effectively by reforming the current system of rent regulation. The Government has done this. The Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026, which came into effect on 1 March last, introduced a new national rent control for all tenancies. Before that, we brought the whole country under a nationwide rent pressure zone with rent increases capped at 2% to protect tenants in areas which were not covered by an RPZ from significant rent increases prior to the upcoming changes. Tenancies in place prior to 1 March were unaffected by the new changes and, importantly, a significant safeguard was placed on such tenancies that stated a landlord cannot reset to market rent if a notice to quit is issued. This specific provision was inserted to stop economic evictions. New tenancies created from 1 March 2026 are subject to tenancies of minimum duration, TMDs. These will be rolling six-year tenancies, offering tenants greater stability. During the six-year period, landlords will only be able to end a tenancy in specific circumstances, such as tenants not meeting their obligations. Smaller landlords - those with three tenancies or fewer - will be allowed to terminate a tenancy if the landlord or a close family member needs to live in the property or if there is financial hardship that requires the sale of the property. Larger landlords - those with four tenancies or more - will only be able to end a tenancy in very limited circumstances such as tenants not paying their rent. We need to see supply with security. The Government decision delivers that balance by introducing critical measures to attract investment in new apartment construction. These measures are essential to increasing supply and will ultimately lead to more available accommodation and more affordable rents. Sinn Féin turns a blind eye to the Housing Agency review of the rent control system, which said that the inability to reset rents was a particularly harsh aspect of the system and a fundamental barrier to investment to drive more supply. The Government is fully committed to tackling high rents and ensuring an increase in the supply of high-quality rental accommodation. We are doing this through significant capital investment and through housing measures, such as providing cost rental homes, of which we have delivered more than 6,200 so far. It is quite clear that this motion was prompted by the recently published RTB-ESRI rent index for the fourth quarter of 2025 and the RTB director’s report for the first quarter of 2026. It is important to note in the context of this debate that we cannot just focus on one set of facts. We have to look at the whole picture, rather than cherry-pick statistics. While all of the focus is on certain statistics within the report, we have to focus on the overall report. While 7,062 notices of termination is undoubtedly high, it is also worth noting that there were also 16,548 new tenancy registrations confirmed in the first quarter. Nationally, registered private tenancies rose by 2.44% annually to 246,477 in the first quarter of 2026. Of these, 5,226 were cost-rental tenancies, which increased by 87% year on year. The number of private landlords also rose by 1.3% annually to 105,847, indicating increased participation in the rental market. The RTB data therefore shows continued resilience in the Irish rental sector, with ongoing growth in tenancies and landlords in the market. Our housing plan is building on the strongest period of delivery in a generation. In the past five years, almost 149,000 new homes have been delivered. Our plan is ambitious. It commits to the delivery of 300,000 new homes over its lifetime, including 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable housing supports to help people to buy or rent at a cost they can sustain. Increasing supply is the single most important lever we have to moderate prices, improve affordability, reduce homelessness and increase home ownership for families and ordinary workers. The plan rests on two core pillars. The first, activating supply, is about removing the structural barriers to housing output. It is about unlocking land, reforming and accelerating planning, investing in water, energy and transport infrastructure and addressing viability challenges so homes can be built where they are needed. At the same time, we are expanding construction capacity through apprenticeships and modern methods of construction, MMC, and bringing vacant and derelict homes back into use through grants and a derelict property tax. The second pillar, supporting people, recognises that supply alone is not enough. We must ensure that those most impacted by the housing crisis are supported directly and effectively. Over the lifetime of this plan, we will deliver an average of 12,000 new social homes each year. That is an unprecedented commitment. A stable and predictable rental framework is essential. Without it, supply will contract further and renters will suffer the consequences. Progress is being made. Completions are rising. Social and affordable output is at record levels. Planning reforms are accelerating delivery. Infrastructure investment is being aligned with housing growth. However, we are honest about the scale of the task at hand. There is no single measure, no simple ban or freeze that will solve the challenges we face. The Government’s approach is clear. We need to increase supply at scale; protect and prioritise home ownership; deliver record levels of social and affordable housing; strengthen tenant protections; and mobilise public and private investment to build the homes our growing population requires. Delivering Homes, Building Communities is a funded, actionable plan which recognises that solving the housing crisis demands persistence, partnership and pragmatism. We will continue to act as a Government to ensure we drive delivery, because that is the only sustainable answer to the challenges we face. It is the supply of more homes and that is what our plan will achieve.

Sentiment score: 0.18