Rental Sector: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-27
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Joanne Collins (SF), Agricultural Panel

The only thing that does not work in this country is the majority of people's wages. For middle-income earners, the only thing not going up is their wages. The costs of paying for the food shop, car insurance, rent, insurance and tax have all gone up for them. The cost of everything they are paying for has gone up because of inflation. The only thing not matching it is their wages.
What do I say to Jane and her husband, who are left with €130 a week just after paying the rent? They have two kids. What if a school tour comes up? Do they have to go to the principal or teacher, get down on their hands and knees, with embarrassment and pride in their heart, say they cannot afford the school tour this year and ask if they can get a payment plan for it? What is an experience like this doing to people? I just do not think the Government is seeing the bigger picture. I do not think it is hearing the stories it needs to hear.
What is wrong is that the offices of the Government representatives are being packed up with the developers and investors. They are the ones getting the sweet deals when it comes to rent in this country. The Government is saying that our Private Members' Bill does not represent the progress that this Government has made. The 17,500 people living in homeless accommodation represent the Government and what it has done. This is what it needs to look at.
I am really sorry if it sounds very blunt, but the Government’s policies are not worth the paper they are written on, because they are not working. Do you know what? I would respect the Government and its representatives so much more if, just once in a while, they put their hands up and said this is not working, so let us stop and look at it, and go back and change it a little bit. The Government does not have to say that we were right. We are not asking for that. We just want the Government to get this right for the people on the ground. By the way, Deputy Eoin Ó Broin is not in government and never has been. How could he build a bloody house?

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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