Rental Sector: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-27
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PJ Murphy (FG), Agricultural Panel

I welcome the Minister to the Seanad. I thank him for being here for this debate this evening. We need to look at the question; why would anybody be a landlord? Why would anybody put their hard earned money and savings into buying a second or third house and renting it out? Why? They would do it to make some profit is the obvious answer. What is being proposed here is that all of these small landlords, who saved their hard earned money over many years to buy a second or third house, would no longer be in a position to make enough of a profit for it to be worth their while doing that. Already, we are seeing a huge number of small landlords leaving the market because of interventions to date that many people suggest to me have already gone too far. However, what is being proposed here goes way further again.
What is being proposed presents a risk of market distortion and reduced money for investment in maintenance and refurbishment of properties that are on the rental market. What Sinn Féin is proposing would freeze the market and make the shortage of rental accommodation substantially worse as the exodus of small landlords from the market would accelerate as a result of what is being proposed, if it were to go through.
This Government has already introduced substantial residential tenancy changes. I find it most entertaining to hear the Sinn Féin spokespersons quoting Vienna as a fine example of the rental market. When this Government tried to reduce minimum apartment sizes, in line with Vienna, guess what Sinn Féin did? It voted against it, as usual.
We hear the argument that this Government is making the housing crisis worse. This claim, I am afraid, ignores the concrete legislative action taken in 2026. The Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026 is the strongest tenant protection legislation in the history of this State. On more than one occasion, the Minister, Deputy Browne, has stated correctly that tenants in Ireland will have the most robust set of protections they have ever had. Sinn Féin's own position of opposing investment-friendly policies would reduce supply and push rents higher over the medium term.
It has been suggested by the Opposition that the Government is failing renters. The legislation enacted earlier this year provides renters with a national rent cap for the first time outside the rent pressure zones, RPZs. It provides effective abolition of no-fault evictions for larger landlords. It provides full transparency on rent history and market comparisons. It provides long-term security through minimum duration tenancies. These are not aspirational commitments. They are law, in force since 1 March 2026.
The Sinn Féin motion is a political attack that fails to account for the Government's substantial recent legislative achievements. The Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026 and the Delivering Homes, Building Communities policy represent a comprehensive two-pronged response to the rental crisis, robust tenant protection in the short term and a credible plan to deliver the supply that will bring lasting stability in the housing sector into the future.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-27/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:00+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-27