Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions Dail Éireann — 2026-02-12 ============================================================ Richard Boyd Barrett (PBP), Dún Laoghaire Despite the opposition of People Before Profit and most of the rest of the Opposition and protests last night, the Government insisted on ramming through a Bill relating to the RTB that is going to mean further hikes in rents which are already unaffordable, worsening an already dire housing crisis. The Government rejected amendments which proposed that rents be kept at affordable levels and that no-fault evictions should not continue. In the context of the purpose of the Bill, the Minister stated, "We do not want rents for long-term tenancies to fall behind market rents." The purpose of it therefore is to increase rents and make sure they do not fall behind a market that is completely unaffordable. No doubt the property speculators, the corporate landlords and the vulture funds will be rubbing their hands with glee because they are set to be able to ratchet up rents and make even more profits off the back of the housing misery huge numbers of working people, young people and students in this country are experiencing. The human cost of all of this is going to be significant. I will provide an example, namely that of Michael and Shannon, a young couple in their 20s. Michael is working and Shannon was working but had to give it up because of their housing dilemma. They have two young children, a two-year-old who came in here with them last night and a nine-year-old daughter, both of whom have special needs. They are facing eviction in the next week by a small landlord, which will still be allowed under the legislation, through no fault of their own. They are facing the prospect of emergency accommodation. They are nine years on a council list but with no prospect of a council house. They are on the three-bed list. They have been approved for HAP and told to go out and try to find a HAP tenancy but the limit is €1,912. That is the homeless HAP limit. They can pay a bit of a top-up on that which they cannot really afford. The cheapest rent today in south Dublin is €3,100 for the number of bedrooms they need. As the report confirms today, nothing is available in most areas of the country within the HAP limits. The same family has been hit by the council rent hikes that the councils are putting up. How is the Bill going to help them? Is it not the case that after 1 March their prospect of finding an affordable rental property is now absolutely gone, as it is impossible at the moment, and that their vulnerable children with special needs are now facing the prospect of going into a hostel? Shannon was breaking down in tears in front of me with her partner saying her kids cannot go into that situation. What does the Tánaiste have to say to Michael and Shannon? --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-12/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:56+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-02-12