Fianna Fáil tried to undo house that Simon built
The party had tried to push the Fine Gael-led Government into a corner over its plans to tackle spiralling rents that are fuelling the housing crisis.
Coveney’s long-awaited strategy for the rental sector was launched on Tuesday and included lengthy explanations about rent predictability.
It seemed he had managed to haul his rent plan across the line by getting his Cabinet colleagues on board despite Fine Gael’s history of opposing rent-control measures and strong hesitations from Finance Minister Michael Noonan.
Except there was one matter: Fianna Fáil.
How quickly things change in politics. By Tuesday night, Fianna Fáil was determined to get its mark on the plans. But it went further. Micheál Martin’s party wanted the rent cap limited to 2% as opposed to the Government’s proposed 4% annual increase limit. It said areas beyond Dublin and Cork City must be included, such as Limerick and Meath. And some type of tax incentive for landlords must be assessed, the party declared.
By yesterday afternoon, Coveney was fuming, his plan unravelling. Fianna Fáil’s Barry Cowen was privately giving out that Coveney had kept him and Fianna Fáil in the dark about the 4% rent cap. The minister made no secret of the fact he thought Fianna Fáil, whose support the Government relies on, was playing politics with the strategy.
A standoff ensued. The horsetrading began. And amendments from the Government as well as from Fianna Fáil for the rent strategy legislation were being drafted by both sides yesterday evening.
One minister told the Irish Examiner: “We are not folding on this. We are sticking with 4%. Months of work went into getting that figure. They are just playing politics with this.”
At one stage, Government sources were suggesting they were prepared to let the whole rent strategy collapse and give up on it if Fianna Fáil didn’t back down. “He [Mr Coveney] will pull it. And they [Fianna Fáil] will be to blame.”
For years, rents have been out of control in the capital. Prospective tenants are having to queue up outside properties, competing for leases.
Increasing portions of people’s incomes are going towards rents. Coveney said this week that the average monthly demand in Dublin is €1,500. Families living in Dublin and Cork City are unable to save for a mortgage and are caught in a rent trap, paying landlords more every year as rates are hiked up at an uncontrollable pace.
It was about time something was done. Coveney’s intervention is admirable, but is the 4% cap on rent increases too much? Rates are already sky high, charities warn.
Of course, the other issue is that strict rent controls will scare away investors or landlords and then, ultimately, worsen the crisis.
Coveney fired off a letter to Fianna Fáil yesterday stating that he was not for turning. Fianna Fáil, meanwhile, was floating the idea, through amendments, of agreeing to higher rent increases if landlords carry out significant refurbishments on properties.
The rent legislation is set to be debated and voted on in the Dáil today. But it remains to be seen if this increasingly rocky minority Government can find a compromise so that tenants, ultimately, get some relief.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
