Tánaiste accuses Sinn Féin of 'angry jack-in-the-box routine' over housing crisis

Sinn Féin finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said 'Fine Gael's approach to housing and to renters is letting the market run wild'

Simon Harris: 'Mom and pop landlords — people in my constituency and Deputy Doherty's — who rent out one or two properties are demonised. We need them to stay in the market.'

Simon Harris has accused Sinn Féin of conducting an "angry jack-in-the-box routine" as it tackled the Government's record on housing in a heated Dáil exchange.

During Leaders' Questions, Sinn Féin finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said figures from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) showed that "rents are out of control".

"In the last year alone, both new and existing rents have risen by 5% across the State," Mr Doherty told the Dáil.

"In some counties, the increases have been truly shocking. Leitrim rents are up 16%, Carlow is up 15% and Longford is up 14%. The average new rent in this State is now €20,000 a year. In Dublin, the picture is even more brutal. The average new rent in Dublin stands at €27,000 a year. 

"This is not an accident. This is the direct result of Fine Gael's approach to housing and to renters, letting the market run wild, protecting profits and abandoning ordinary people. 

Average rents were less than €1,000 when the Tánaiste became a minister and took up his position in Cabinet. Now, they are nearly double that.

Mr Doherty said "young people cannot take this pressure any longer", citing the example of a couple in their mid-20s who had moved back to their parents' homes.

"The Government is pricing them out of homes, out of family lives and out of their own futures. What did renters get in this year's budget? 

"They did not get the promise made to them that the Government would increase the renter's tax credit. They did not get that, but landlords are going to get an increase. They will get a €1,000 tax break next year."

In response, the Tánaiste Simon Harris said "we are seeing a churn in terms of landlords coming into the market and landlords leaving the market, but we are actually also seeing more tenancies than before". 

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This was before some angry exchanges followed in the Dáil. He said Mr Doherty was "in his 15th year as opposition spokesperson", to which Mr Doherty said the new finance minister had "put his foot in it".

"Mom and pop landlords — people in my constituency and Deputy Doherty's — who rent out one or two properties are demonised. We need them to stay in the market. Deputy Doherty wants to drive them out and increase rental property. 

"It does not make sense. It is probably why he is celebrating his 15th anniversary as the Opposition spokesperson on finance. Five finance ministers later, he is still sitting in the same seat because the people of Ireland do not trust him when it comes to the economy. They know the angry jack-in-the-box routine does not build homes."