Pringle: Rent reduction bill would have huge impact for people in Donegal and across the country

By Thomas Pringle
Updated: 13th July 2022

Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, cited spiralling rent increases in Donegal, as he supported a bill calling for rent reduction to affordable levels and a National Rent Authority.

Addressing the Dáil today, Deputy Pringle said: “As we all know, this is the last week the Dáil will sit before the recess, and although we have unnecessarily rushed through a lot of very important and heavy legislation, we have actually done very little in helping to ease the cost of living for families.

“People are struggling to get by and keep up with continuous spiralling costs and it seems disingenuous of us to pass legislation after legislation with none of it addressing this. I welcome that People Before Profit have brought this legislation forward to properly address the everyday struggle that people are currently facing.”

The deputy said he supported the People Before Profit-Solidarity bill, which would establish a National Rent Authority and reduce rents to affordable levels by limiting them to a maximum of a quarter of monthly household income.

Deputy Pringle said: “This legislation would have a huge impact on many in this country who are part of ‘Generation Rent’. Due to the failed housing policies of successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments, facilitated by Labour and Greens to keep them in power, people do not have the option to buy their own home and as a result are being forced into the rental sector. Renters make up a huge number of today’s population and the rise of rent that they have been subjected to is completely unacceptable.

“In my constituency of Donegal, the average rent increased by almost 20 per cent in 2021 alone and this has only gotten worse in 2022. The latest report from Daft.ie shows that rents in Donegal rose by 23 per cent in the first three months of 2022 compared to the same period last year, with the county’s rents rising at a rate beyond any other major city in the country. There is a serious scarcity of homes available in the area as well. On May 1st, there were just 36 homes available to rent between Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan, which is a drop of nearly 40 per cent.

“What’s more is that we now have many more being pushed into the rental market in Donegal due to homes being affected by mica,” he said, adding, “I want to again point out that the Minister for Housing is not only failing mica-affected homeowners through that legislation, he is also failing them by not implementing this legislation as well, by not ensuring that rents cannot increase any further.

“I strongly believe that rents should be linked to people’s income and to their ability to pay. It is only fair that this is the case. We cannot go on allowing for rent to take up most of a person’s income. It isn’t acceptable and it certainly isn’t sustainable,” he said.

He said: “This government has prioritized helping developers and vulture funds over their own citizens for far too long.”

Deputy Pringle said: “Government TDs need to remind themselves who they are here to represent, citizens, not vulture funds. They need to start listening to their constituents who are crying out for help. It is time for their voices to be prioritised. And the government now has the opportunity to do that, by passing this Rent Reduction Bill.

“But we know you won’t do it,” he said.