This truly is one of the most bizarre Bills I have seen come before the House. In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, at a time when families are pinned to their collar by the highest electricity and energy bills and the highest rents in Europe, the Government thinks it a good time to bring forward a Bill that seeks to increase rents even further. Is the Minister aware we are not in a competition here? This is not a race to the bottom. How can anyone see the Bill for anything other than what it is, which is a love letter to the big institutional investors with which Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been in bed for many a year? It is Irish renters, families and young people on whom the Government is cheating. This rent hike Bill will allow vulture funds and big landlords to hike up the rents of 60,000 people a year. The Minister is calling it a market reset. In fact, it will mean thousands are paying more in rent from 1 March. Whom exactly will this benefit? My constituency of Kildare North has some of the highest rents in the country. The demand for housing, including rental properties, has increased so much because when rents spiral out of control in Dublin, people exchange cheaper rents for longer commuting times. Tenants in County Kildare are paying an average of €1,500 a month. A person would be lucky to get a four-bedroom property in north Kildare for less than €3,000. Rents will increase by 20% on 1 March, which is €300 a month on the average rent price in Kildare. This is the Government's solution to the biggest rental crisis we have faced as a State. Renters are being made to pay to line the pockets of big landlords. Any legislation that seeks seriously to address the regulation of the private rental sector would focus on cutting and freezing rents, not allowing them to rise even further. This Bill will not protect renters; it will push them further to the brink. The average length of a private rental tenancy is three and a half years, according to the RTB. Of all tenancies registered in 2025, 25% were first-time tenancies. If this trend continues, within four to six years the vast majority of private renters will be caught by the market reset rule and big landlords and private investors will be laughing all the way to the bank. Again, the question I have to ask the Minister is "Cui bono?". What is the logic behind such daft legislation? How can he justify these measures at a time when so many people across the board are experiencing hardship? We need rent freezes, not rent increases. What is the Minister at?

Sentiment score: 0.02