That is not true.

I have been contacted by several landlords who want to sell their rental properties and do not wish to evict their tenants. They are finding it extremely challenging to access the tenant in situ scheme. There is no clear point of contact in each local authority for landlords and tenants who want to avail of the scheme. Some local authorities are not engaging properly with landlords on it. The scheme is being implemented in very different ways in different parts of the country. This was confirmed to us by the City a…

But they are implemented differently.

The well-being framework specifically recognises the importance of housing to well-being. There can be nothing more important for a person's well-being than having a secure home. Renters from all over Ireland have posted their harrowing stories on uplift.ie of how the lifting of the eviction ban will affect them. Has the Taoiseach read these testimonies, and if not, will he read them? Here are three testimonies from people in my constituency that I will share with him. Áine says she is one half of an older couple d…

I thank Deputy Ó Broin for tabling this motion. The Social Democrats will be supporting it. At this stage, I want to appeal to Government backbenchers. It is not too late for them to change their mind on this, do the right thing and vote in favour of this motion. In particular, the Green Deputies should show some backbone on this matter. I know there are no Green Deputies in the Chamber at present but they have a role in this. I do not believe that when any of them stood for election they were running on the basis …

There are clear data that the biggest driver of homelessness is people losing their tenancy in the private rental sector. When they get an eviction notice, that is a clear driver. What is the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, going to do about charges on top of rent that some companies are applying to renters as a way of circumventing rent regulation laws?

I thank the Minister of State for the response. It is a pity that, generally, the senior Minister, Deputy O'Brien, does not answer my questions during priority and oral parliamentary questions, while he does so for other Opposition spokespeople. Specifically on this issue, rents in Ireland are among the highest in Europe. Security for renters, especially after the Government's decision to remove the eviction ban, is among the lowest in Europe. Despite this, some corporate landlords are circumventing rent regulation…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I will do that and have done so on foot of these parliamentary questions before, but I actually want the system to be fixed. The experience is poor in terms of saying to people to go to the RTB and that it might look into it. The RTB is under-resourced and is not able to deal with this. It does not have the capacity. We need the system to be fixed. Landlords are getting around the rent regulation rules by charging extra costs. Will the Minister of State bring in legislat…

Exactly.

My question is about compulsory rental orders. Last May, the Minister said he was open to the idea. What has he done about them since? Has he looked into this? As he knows, on the night of the census there were 35,000 empty rental properties in the country. Part of the solution to the housing crisis is to make the best use we can of existing housing stock, in terms of the crisis we are in as well as sustainability. This has been done successfully in other countries and cities with particularly high housing demand. …

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. It is very welcome that this is being actively looked at by the Department. I take it from that it is being looked at as part of the review of the private rental sector. What is the timeline on that and could he indicate as well not just the timeline for the review but the potential timeline for any legislation on compulsory rental orders? It would be great if he could give us more detail on that.

Will the Minister indicate how many affordable purchase and cost-rental homes were delivered in 2022? Did he reach his targets in this regard? If not, can he provide some information on the position?

I thank the Minister for the reply. He has been able to give us and the media quite solid estimates in respect of social housing delivery for last year. I appreciate that all the information may not yet be available. The Minister may not have the exact figure, but can he give us a general indication of cost-rental and affordable house purchase delivery for 2022? Is he in a position to outline the number of houses provided by local authorities or not-for-profit organisations and housing co-operatives as well? Can he…

Can the Minister explain how, in terms of the social housing delivery that is coming through the same sorts of mechanisms, he is able give quite solid indications that 7,500 social homes were delivered in 2022? He was able to give the first home scheme figures. Is he not in a position to give us solid estimates of the delivery numbers in respect of the other forms of housing delivery? The Minister has stated previously that approximately 1,000 cost-rental tenancies have been approved during the lifetime of this Gov…

The Minister voted against our amendments on affordable purchase.

We voted against the Minister's amendments.

Why did the Minister vote against our amendments?

We do and the Government votes them all down.

One of the issues identified as a barrier to our competitiveness is the lack of housing people can afford. With regard to the Government's decision to lift the ban on evictions, is the Taoiseach aware that in most European countries tenants who pay their rent cannot be evicted? Ireland is now in the unique position of having some of the highest rents in Europe and some of the lowest security for renters. Is the Taoiseach aware that after 13 years of Fine Gael in office, homelessness is at record levels? It has neve…

At a time when we have record homelessness, the Government has made a decision that is going to increase homelessness further. The explanations we have been given so far hold no weight. We have been told that 1,500 new homes will be purchased as part of the tenant in situ programme, but that had already been announced by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. We urgently need full accountability in respect of and statements on this matter.