Minister accuses opposition of whipping up 'false anger' on Rent Pressure Zones
The opposition has been accused of 'whipping up anger' and creating 'confusion' over the Government's plan to reform Rent Pressure Zones.
It follows suggestions that the Government will be 'jacking up the rents for tens of thousands of hard-pressed renters from March 2026 onwards'.
Legislation to extend Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) nationwide was expedited through the Dáil on Wednesday and will be rushed through the Seanad on Thursday in a bid to get the legislation signed into law by the end of the week.
The change will mean that no landlord across the country will be able to increase rent by more than two per cent, or the level of inflation, whichever is less.
A new regime will come into place from next March, which will create six-year tenancies. Once these are up, or if a tenant leaves the property voluntarily, landlords can increase their rents to market rates.
Housing Minister James Browne confirmed on Tuesday that rents for students who live in private rental accommodation for the duration of an academic year will be able to be increased if they leave the property voluntarily.
The RPZ plans were torn to shreds by the opposition, with Sinn Féin's housing spokesman branding the announcements in recent weeks as 'utter shambles'.
He said: 'In my entire time in Dáil Éireann, I have never witnessed a more haphazard, ramshackle, back-of-the-envelope process for putting in place widespread reforms that are going to impact tens of thousands of people.
'While I understand Ministers and Ministers of State have to come here and defend this farce, privately they must be absolutely reeling.
'The credibility of the Government's housing policy has once again been exposed as an absolute sham.
'Only five months into the job, the Minister's own credibility has been badly damaged.'
He continued: 'Let us call it by its name. It is the Fianna Fáil rent hike Bill. This is Micheál Martin, who initiated this process and pulls the strings of his Minister, jacking up the rents for tens of thousands of hard-pressed renters from March 2026 onwards.'
In response, Minister Browne accused the opposition of
He said: 'What the opposition are trying to do, in a really dishonest way, is trying to deliberately create confusion and to whip up false anger among people, to whip up anger among people for pure political ends, putting politics before people.
'It's such a dishonest way to approach things, so it is.'
Minister Browne further said that while there had been a lot of criticism, the opposition had failed to put forward alternative solutions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Dublin Live
43 minutes ago
- Dublin Live
Housing Minister admits rents may go up due to new RPZ plans
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Housing Minister James Browne has conceded that rents 'may go up in certain cases' due to his new Rent Pressure Zone plans. The Fianna Fail TD also admitted that the housing target of 41,000 in 2025 is 'no longer realistic'. The RPZs restrict the amount a landlord can increase rents by 2% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. Nationwide RPZs came into effect from midnight. The President confirmed last night that he had signed the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2025 into law following its passage through the Dail and the Seanad this week. More sweeping measures will be introduced next March that will see tenants enter into six-year contracts. However, landlords will be able to increase the rent to market rates either at the end of the six-year period or whenever a tenant leaves voluntarily. Minister Browne conceded that some rents may increase under the plans. He said: 'The only way we can get rents down is to increase supply. That's having a certain system in place for tenants, for landlords and investors. 'The current system is clearly not working. The Housing Agency report made that very clear, we have one of the toughest rent control systems in the world, and it is clearly impacting on supply. Rents may go up in certain cases. I certainly hope they don't.' Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage .
RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
High cost of IP housing 'not sustainable'
The Minister of State for Migration has acknowledged the high costs of providing accommodation for International Protection applicants and Ukrainian refugees, which he said was "neither sustainable nor acceptable in the long term". The State spent more than €401m on accommodation for International Protection applicants and Ukrainian refugees in the first three months of the year. That is according to new figures released by the former Department of Integration detailing its spending for the first quarter of 2025. In a statement, Minister Colm Brophy said the State had engaged in a series of actions to reduce these costs. He said this includes: "The purchase of State-owned facilities which will reduce costs and save the State 100s of millions in a relatively short period of time. "The renegotiation downwards of existing contracts with IPAS and Ukrainian accommodation providers. "The introduction of legislation this autumn will drastically shorten the length of time people stay in the system. This will reduce the overall costs of accommodation in the years ahead." The €401m figure is down on last year's quarterly spends on such accommodation, which ranged from €424m to €490m. Paying for private sector accommodation for refugees and asylum seekers made up 97% of the department's purchase order spends of €20,000 or more detailed in the Department report. While hundreds of providers are in receipt of Government payments, 91 were paid more than €1m in the first quarter of the year, and together the top five brought in €52.5m. Commenting on the figures, Nick Henderson, the CEO of the Irish Refugee Council, said it had always been concerned about money going straight to private providers. He said the Government's purchase of Citywest could be a step in the right direction and was likely to be better value for money for the taxpayer. The Citywest campus has been central to the Government's International Protection and Ukrainian refugee accommodation provision over the last number of years. However, Mr Henderson said this did not necessarily mean it would be a better-run facility. He said the IRC also had concerns that the border procedure, under the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, could be based in the future at Citywest. The IRC would also like to see an expansion of the remit of HIQA, which only has inspection powers for longer-term accommodation, expanded to include emergency accommodation.
RTÉ News
6 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Supplementary register recommended for Seanad elections
A review by An Coimisiún Toghcháin of the conduct of the Seanad elections last January has made a number of recommendations to improve the electoral process for the upper house. Chief among those is a recommendation to introduce a supplementary register ahead of the next election. Unlike Dáil elections, current law does not allow for a supplementary Seanad register, meaning there is one fixed deadline that people must be registered by or risk missing out on their Seanad vote. The review also recommends improved checks on the register of electors to ensure accuracy. The Comisiún said issues with incorrect addresses and deceased electors remaining on the register likely contribute to perceived low turnouts. Another recommendation is for the inclusion of a standardised stamp or watermark on all ballot papers before they are issued and amending legislation to allow individuals decline a nomination or withdraw their own nomination. It also recommends all announcements in count centres are delivered in English, Irish and Irish Sign language and a review of procedure regarding the delivery of Seanad ballot papers by registered post. The Seanad with its 60 members has a unique electoral system. Six senators are elected by the Higher Education constituency and 43 through vocational panels, with only TDs, outgoing Senators and local councillors entitled to vote. The remaining 11 are nominated by the taoiseach of the day. The upper house has constitutionally defined roles in the consideration and passing of legislation and initiating bills.
