Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-26
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

We brought in measures this week that benefit everybody in terms of the cost of fuel at the pump. That was the important and right thing to do. What the Deputy is highlighting in this House today concerns renters. I say this respectfully; I hear other people highlighting different aspects in media and newspaper commentary. We have to be very careful with the economic interventions we make. There is an annual budgetary process. We will have an annual budget. We have a rent tax credit in place and have funded that tax credit for the years ahead. We will no doubt have a debate and discussion, and there are commitments in the programme for Government on the scale of the renter's tax credit as well. I have to be very honest with the Deputy. We need to have a comprehensive understanding of the depth and duration of this economic challenge. Tomorrow, I will attend a special Eurogroup meeting on this specifically, because we also need to continue to engage and see what other countries are doing too.
On the issue of the short-term lets, I do not accept there is a watering down. There is a change but it is not a watering down. We have to get the balance right here. I do not think anybody intended, or certainly I did not - I not sure the Deputy did - that there would be a situation where crucial rental properties in small rural communities would be taken out of the tourism sector so we have to get that proposal right and arrive at a balanced way forward, and we will. Renters, people who own homes and all people in the country will benefit from the €250 million intervention and the Government will remain nimble, agile and willing to act further should this economic crisis globally deepen in the time ahead.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-26