Gabhaim buíochas le Páirtí Shinn Féin as ucht an rún seo a chur faoi bhráid na Dála anocht. Tugann Páirtí an Lucht Oibre tacaíocht don rún. Bhí mé ag éisteacht le mo chara, an Teachta Ní Fhearghail, agus dúirt sí rud éigin spéisiúil. Chuir sí ceist faoi bhráid na Dála; céard is fiú é? Aontaím leis an méid a bhí le rá aici. Céard is fiú Seachtain na Gaeilge gan Gaeltacht bheo agus gan teanga bheo? Tá a fhios ag gach uile dhuine go bhfuil an ghéarchéim tithíochta sa Ghaeltacht ina bagairt ollmhór dár dteanga náisiúnt…

I genuinely do not know where to start. I was flabbergasted by what the Tánaiste said earlier on about this Government apparently being on the side of renters, when we know that IRES REIT owns 3,627 properties and made €49.7 million in profit last year. It said that it welcomes Government's proactive approach because its portfolio is currently 20% undervalued and it has a potential 25% rental income uplift. That is going to take a terrible situation and make it inherently worse for those who are on the margins beca…

Before I call the next speaker, I welcome to the Gallery Mr. Gerry Reilly, president elect of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, and Ms Valerie Fitzpatrick, the vice-president elect. I call Deputy Cian O'Callaghan.

Hear, hear.

The image I am holding up is not a real image but an AI-generated image of the front of a house on daft.ie at the moment. Estate agents are more and more posting AI-generated false images on platforms like Daft. This is misleading. It is also predatory at a time when the housing situation is so bad. The response from the advertising regulator, however, has been effectively that it is fine provided there is a tiny label at the bottom. I am very concerned about this practice because it is something we have seen in ot…

If the Minister of State looks at the TomTom Traffic Index, he will see that people in Limerick - the city I represent - lost 74 hours in traffic congestion last year. That is three whole days wasting away at the Mackey roundabout, on the Corbally Road, in Raheen, on the Dock Road, on Henry Street, on the M20 and on the N7 - the list goes on. What this Government is doing in opposing our Bill here is saying to people that this is grand and that they can spend an entire week of their lives in the car every single ye…

There are much stronger sectoral agreements. My bottom line is this: if the job works on Wi-Fi, it does not need diesel. What I would say when I look at big business in this country is that if your management style only works when people are sitting in front of you, that is not leadership or mentoring; that is control freakery. The reality that is evident with regard to this Bill this morning and other matters is this is not a Government for workers. This is the most anti-worker Government I can remember in recent …

Come over, comrade.

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

Good.

In Limerick, the average price of a three-bed, semi-detached house is now €345,000. It has gone up 13.8% in a year. It has gone up 40% in five years. This issue of bulk buying by investors is one of the reasons behind house price inflation in Limerick. Some experts say it can account for up to 20%, or one third, of house price inflation. Why did the Government take some action in 2021? It is important to remember that action was taken on foot of what I can only describe as intense political pressure and a really lo…

This Bill is a mirage because of what the Minister is talking about regarding security of tenure. There are things in the Bill about security of tenure that I would welcome were they in isolation, but we have a situation where the Government has a policy outcome whereby it has drafted a Bill that is so complicated and convoluted. It has made a policy decision that is essentially pulling in two separate directions. It claims it is trying to offer renters improved security of tenure but it is allowing landlords to re…

We want evidence for this legislation.

It is not true.

I would love if my amendment was addressed. I would love that.

They will not be able to afford to rent.

The Minister still has not addressed my amendment.

The Minister did not meaningfully address my amendments in his response to them. He spoke about Standing Order 197. The types of reports referenced under that Standing Order came in as part of political reform in 2011. They are often delayed, sometimes for two, three or four years in respect of certain legislation. God knows where we will be four years from now. There is no proper, thorough and standardised approach to how these reports are done. In 2017, the Oireachtas Library and Research Service did a very good …

With regard to my amendment in particular and my request for an impact forecast on amendment No. 8, if the Minister is so certain that this is a permanent solution, which I do not believe it is, where is the modelling to forecast what it is going to do to rents in the private rental market over the next number of years?