I move amendment No. 1: To insert the following after "23rd February, 2026": ", provided that this Order shall take effect only after the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 has been amended to provide for the Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) scheme termination date to be extended, only for the following: — existing recipients, with respect to the beneficiaries of temporary protection currently benefitting from the scheme, where those beneficiaries of temporary protection have satisfied a means test, similar to those applicable for other housing assistance payments; — new applications, who propose to host a beneficiary of temporary protection in their property, which is also their own primary residence, and who have not availed of the Rent-a-Room Relief scheme in the previous 24 months, ensuring that the ARP does not further distort the rental sector; and — recipients who are not in receipt of any additional or 'top-up' payments from a beneficiary of temporary protection.". The accommodation recognition payment was originally introduced in July 2022 at a rate of €400 per month, tax free, in the months following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It was designed as an emergency measure to support those who opened their homes to provide accommodation to beneficiaries of temporary protection arriving in Ireland. Sinn Féin has commended, and I commend again, all those who opened rooms in their houses to accommodate people fleeing war. Since then, however, the scheme has morphed into something entirely different. It has impacted on rents in the private rental sector and has enabled landlords to evade their usual tenancy obligations while getting a tax-free payment of, at some points, up to €800 per month, plus top-ups. The rate, which had been increased to €800 in September 2022, was reduced to €600 in the middle of last year. Now the Government is talking about changing it again. The ARP provides a non-means-tested housing support to Ukrainians that is not available to anyone else in need of housing. That is unfair because those who receive this support could be in well-paid employment and may be working alongside others who receive no housing supports but might need them. Repeated warnings about the impact and unfairness of the ARP were ignored, and that is a real problem. The Government failed to listen and to act. The Minister of State is being entirely disingenuous in citing a survey he knows no landlord would complete. Any measures the Government has taken to address potential impacts have been too little and too late. We know that because a report published by the Department of housing tells us so. The report states that the payment "still represents a substantial incentive to divert properties from the private rental sector to the ARP scheme". The report points out that the tax-free nature of the ARP means it is more attractive than rental returns in some parts of the country, including the maximum levels of the housing assistance payment available to some households nationally. I could have written the report myself because it says exactly what Sinn Féin has been saying. Ministers have serious questions to answer about their failure to be honest with the Dáil about the impact of the ARP. Opposition parties that have taken the Government at its word should also reflect on their position. This scheme should not be extended without the significant amendments Sinn Féin has proposed. To recap, the accommodation recognition payment was introduced as a payment for people who housed Ukrainians in their own homes after the Russian invasion. However, it has morphed into something very different. It is uniquely a tax-free payment to landlords who can then get top-up payments that are completely unregulated. Uniquely, the landlord is completely exempt from all the rules that would apply for any other tenant. It is a landlord's charter. It is not surprising that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael came up with it but it is surprising that other Opposition parties have backed them all the way. Uniquely as well, those who are accommodated under this scheme are not means-tested. There are precisely zero other housing supports from which families can benefit regardless of their income or wealth. The fact the payment is available to Ukrainians and nobody else means it is exactly the type of policy that leads to resentment and division. Again, it is hard to understand how it has had such support among members of parties on both sides of this Chamber. The ARP distorts the rental sector. Sinn Féin has stated this time and again and the Government has dismissed us time and again. Indeed, Opposition party Members have stood in this Chamber and accused Sinn Féin of all sorts simply for stating what is now an absolute fact. The amendments we put forward that would have addressed that problem have been rejected time and again. All the while, the numbers of properties in the ARP scheme continued to grow, with an increase of 5,000 properties last year alone. Now we have confirmation of what we have been saying all along by way of an explicit confirmation in a Government report. It states categorically that the ARP scheme is having a negative impact on the private rental sector, yet the Government's answer is to extend it for another year. It is absolutely crazy stuff. Once again, Sinn Féin is moving an amendment that would resolve the deficiencies in this scheme. There is an opportunity this evening for every Member of this House to let the public know whether lessons have actually been learned.
Sentiment score: 0.07
Read the amendment.
Sentiment score: 0.00
The Deputy should have listened to it-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
Yes, there is.
Sentiment score: 0.40
It is in the housing document.
Sentiment score: 0.00
The Deputy is supporting a landlord's charter.
Sentiment score: 0.44
The Deputy is supporting a landlord's charter.
Sentiment score: 0.44
Yes, they are.
Sentiment score: 0.40
It was this month.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Agreed.
Sentiment score: 0.27
Vótáil.
Sentiment score: 0.00