Latest news with #RPZ
Irish Times
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Times
‘A load of bull' that Sinn Féin is on the side of working people, Tánaiste says
Tánaiste Simon Harris has defended the Government's rent pressure zone (RPZ) reforms in the wake of the Central Bank's finding they will be 'painful' for renters and rounded on Sinn Féin as the 'wealthiest party' and property owner in the Dáil. He claimed it was a 'load of bull' that they were on the side of 'working people'. He also reiterated his comments that the Government will be taking specific measures to support students and that 'we have their backs' as Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane accused the Government of 'spin and bluster'. Responding to Mr Cullinane, Mr Harris hit out at Sinn Féin as the 'biggest property owners in Dáil, the biggest property investors' with 40 to 50 properties, including seven in Belfast. READ MORE 'So don't give me this 'oh we're on the side of the working people'. This is a load of bull that people see right through,' Mr Harris said. Mr Cullinane, quoting the Central Bank, said the Government measures 'will hurt students and their families', would affect young people and their ability to save for their own homes and 'this will hurt ordinary working people'. He said rent controls will not apply to new builds and will not apply to existing homes after a renter moves out voluntarily. They would also not apply to off-campus student accommodation , Mr Cullinane said. The Waterford TD said the reforms 'will hurt tens of thousands of people' and 'there is absolutely no guarantee that these changes will increase supply'. He asked 'when are you going to stop punishing renters?' and called on the Tánaiste to accept that 'students will be one of the first to be affected'. [ Will rent reform hitting holiday lets irk Coalition's own Ministers? Opens in new window ] Government housing policy 'has always been about investors and giving vulture and cuckoo funds free rein to squeeze rents out of hardworking people', Mr Cullinane said. Mr Harris said Mr Cullinane was only quoting parts of what the Central Bank said. The bank 'also said that our rent pressure zone reforms will have a positive effect on supply', Mr Harris said. 'They themselves acknowledge that housing projections are subject to uncertainty, but they've said this morning that it's not impossible to reach the target,' the Tánaiste added. 'There's a number of steps that need to be taken and many of the steps that they've outlined are areas where the Government has a priority focus on.' He said an additional 11 counties would be included in the RPZs and protected. Mr Harris also insisted the Government 'will be taking specific measures to support students'. 'Do not worry because we have their back,' he said, adding that the Government would include additional measures in the budget to protect students. He added that Sinn Féin planned to abolish RPZs and was in favour of reference rents which he said were unworkable. Mr Harris also rejected claims by Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín that the Government was underestimating the homeless population by almost 1,000 based on figures the party got through freedom of information requests to local councils. Mr Tóibín said the local authorities listed 16,472 people as homeless while the official figures are 15,580, some 892 fewer people. The Tánaiste said the monthly figures were official, impartial State statistics and not those of Government. He said in relation to figures compiled by Aontú that often those seeking housing are registered with more than one council creating duplication in the statistics. Opposition smells blood in the water over RPZ changes Listen | 35:51
Extra.ie
a day ago
- Business
- Extra.ie
Thousands of Airbnb lettings set to become illegal from tomorrow
Housing Minister James Browne will not exempt short-term lets from emergency laws, which means thousands of Airbnb-type lettings will not be able to operate legally this weekend. The Dáil voted last night to approve emergency legislation to extend Rent Pressure Zones to the entire country. Under RPZ rules, short-term lets such as Airbnb are required to have planning permission in order to operate. Thousands of these properties will be subsumed into RPZs as early as tomorrow, when it is expected the legislation will be signed into law. Under RPZ rules, someone can let their entire home for a maximum of 90 days without planning permission, but only if it is their principal private residence. Housing Minister James Browne will not exempt short-term lets from emergency laws, which means thousands of Airbnb-type lettings will not be able to operate legally this weekend. Pic: Daniel Krason/Shutterstock A spokeswoman for the Housing Minister has confirmed to that there will be no exemptions made, despite the change effectively rendering thousands of Airbnb rentals illegal within days. 'RPZ rules will apply as they do currently when new areas are zoned as an RPZ,' she said. It comes despite lobbying from within the coalition against such an approach. Michael Healy Rae told the Irish Times on Wednesday that he was concerned about the impact the measures would have. Meanwhile, several senior sources told they expected the new laws to be flouted. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins They said that, as there is so little compliance and enforcement of the existing rules, they did not expect it to be an issue. 'We don't really expect there to be people hauled up before the courts as a result of this because they aren't being brought up in counties already in RPZs where they are clearly operating,' one source said. 'It's a matter for planning ultimately, but the current regime isn't being implemented,' a separate Government source said. The extension of the RPZs is part of a suite of changes to the rental market that were announced by Minister Browne last week. Pic: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin It is understood that Mr Browne will insist that any further changes to short-term lets will only be permitted in the Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill, which is in the early stages of making its way through the Oireachtas. The extension of the RPZs is part of a suite of changes to the rental market that were announced by Minister Browne last week. Opposition TDs were scathing in their criticism of the Government's changes to the rental market last night. Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin described the emergency legislation as an 'utter shambles'. 'In my entire time in Dáil Éireann, I have never witnessed a more haphazard, back-of-the-envelope process for putting in place widespread reforms that are going to impact tens of thousands of people,' he said. Labour TD Conor Sheehan said the announcement of the rent reform plans was 'nothing short of shambolic'.
Irish Times
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Renters and politicians in pressure zone as housing Bill to be signed into law
On the day that this Government's first landmark housing Bill is expected to be signed into law, it appears that it's tenants and politicians, rather than high rents, that are in the pressure zone. Reform of rent pressure zones (RPZs) has been the political story of the week. Legislation to extend RPZs to the entire country passed the Dáil yesterday and is due to be rushed through the Seanad today. If President Michael D Higgins signs the legislation immediately, we would all be waking up tomorrow in an almost all-island RPZ. Minister for Housing James Browne may be feeling a little beleaguered having spent the week mounting a gallant defence of his RPZ reforms from attacks from the Opposition, doctors, students, protesters and AirBnB owners. So he will not thank the Central Bank for its assessment of the impact of RPZs, which it says will be 'painful' for renters. In our lead story today, Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports from the launch of the Central Bank's quarterly bulletin where the bank's director of economics and statistics was asked about the reforms. READ MORE Any delight the Government may feel about Robert Kelly's assessment that the reforms will increase supply will be blunted by the Central Bank downgrading its forecasts for new home completions in the near term. Under the Government's proposals, any pain will have to come before the gain. Even in the best case scenario, it's almost certain that many tenants will see their rents rocket to high market rates long before any new apartments are built. And the Government won't have much time to catch its breath between one high profile political issue and another. My colleague Jack Horgan-Jones was reporting last night that, in advance of some version of the Occupied Territories Bill going to Cabinet next week, it's expected that the proposed law will not include services. The Government benches will likely spend next week in defence mode again, due to the extremely high profile nature of the OTB and the significant public interest in it. Opposition smells blood in the water over RPZ changes Listen | 35:51 Health Representatives of Children's Health Ireland are due to appear before politicians on the health committee this morning, to answer questions about how children with dysplasia and scoliosis have been treated at Ireland's paediatric hospitals. New chief executive Lucy Nugent will be under pressure to get a conciliatory tone right, as TDs and senators are already extremely suspicious of what they perceive as a toxic culture that is embedded within CHI. Meanwhile, another health issue continues to dominate the political agenda. Following his appearance before the same health committee yesterday, Minister of State for older people Kieran O'Donnell said that the Department of Health has commissioned a report on the effect that mass privatisation of the nursing home sector has had on the standards of care offered to older and more vulnerable people. As Shauna Bowers and Marie O'Halloran are reporting today, this follows a programme by RTÉ Investigates that highlighted instances of alleged abuse at Beneavin Manor, Dublin, and The Residence, Portlaoise. Both homes are run by Emeis, the largest provider of private nursing home beds in the State. It comes after the Taoiseach Micheál Martin told the Dáil that the 'nuclear option' of closing a nursing home for significant failings 'has to be on the table'. He said it was up to the HSE and others 'to resolve the consequential crisis that occurs when a decision to close is made. But we shouldn't baulk from that decision because of that.' The Taoiseach said he had 'no issue' with larger fines for repeated failures but stressed closure had to be an option. Middle East It would be easy to keep an insular focus on our own domestic affairs, while ominous reports of the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran continue to threaten the front pages . As well as comprehensive coverage in our World News section of the crisis – including Michael Jansen's analysis of how Iran's regional allies cannot help, and the Iranian TV anchor who has become a national symbol of resistance after being bombed while live on air – Sally Hayden has a report on the cryptic clues from US president Donald Trump about the US possibly intervening on behalf of Israel. 'I may do it, I may not do it, nobody knows what I'm going to do. I can tell you this: that Iran's got a lot of trouble.' It comes as we wake up to reports from the other side of the Atlantic that Trump has approved plans to attack Iran , but according to CBS has not yet made a final decision on whether to strike the Middle Eastern nuclear power. Best reads Miriam Lord is writing about the righteous anguish of the Taoiseach, who is aggrieved at how many interruptions he's enduring in the Dail.Dáil can't get my points across because of this constant pressure.' Mark Paul takes us inside the feverish melee at Westminster Magistrates Court, where Kneecap 's Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh got the rockstar treatment at his hearing on Wednesday. Ó hAnnaidh, whose stage name is Mo Chara, was charged under UK antiterrorism legislation with showing support for a proscribed organisation. Newton Emerson writes in his column today about how he turned to YouTuber 'FreedomDad73′ for live coverage of the Ballymena riots, and what that means about media coverage in Northern Ireland and more broadly. Dáil schedule 8.47am Oral questions to Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke 10.24am Oral questions to Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary 12.00pm Leaders' Questions 12.34pm Other Members' Questions 12.42pm Questions on policy or legislation 1.52pm Government Business is second stage of the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill 2025, which is a bill about royalty payments designed to bring Ireland in line with an EU Copyright Directive 5.26pm Topical issues 6.26pm Private Members' Bill, which is second stage of Sinn Féin's Healthcare (Transparent Payments) Bill 2022 – a bill which would require healthcare workers to declare gifts and payments that they receive. In the Seanad 9.30am Commencement matters 10.30am Order of Business 11.45am Government business, which is devoted to passing all stages of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2025 – making the entire country a Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) ... 1.45pm ... followed by a motion without debate allowing the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2025 to be signed into law quickly 2.00pm Government business is committee stage of the Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill 2024 Oireachtas committtes Today's Oireachtas committee meetings include an high profile appearance of CHI before the health committee and scrutiny of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025, legislation to unravel the triple lock, before the Joint Committee on Defence and National Security. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is busy with a number of C & AG reports, including one on the Department of Housing's decision to grant exceptional funding to the Peter McVerry Trust. The Joint Committee on Key Issues Affecting the Traveller Community will consider the current funding strategy for Traveller-specific accommodation. You can read the full schedule here
Dublin Live
2 days ago
- Business
- Dublin Live
No exemptions for student rent hikes under new housing rules
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 Landlords will be able to hike up rents to market rates every time a student leaves private rental accommodation voluntarily, Housing Minister James Browne confirmed. He said that creating special provisions for cohorts who may have to move frequently, including students, junior doctors, and gardaí, would be 'unworkable' and 'unenforceable.' The Government confirmed plans last week to overhaul the Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) legislation. One part of this was that landlords could increase their rents to market rates after a six-year contract came to an end. However, rents can also be raised at any stage if a tenant leaves voluntarily. This raised questions about students who live in private rental accommodation for an academic year before moving on. Groups representing Non-Consultant Hospital Doctors also raised concerns about the impact on junior doctors who rotate between hospitals every couple of months. However, the Housing Minister confirmed that no measures will be taken to protect short-term renters from rent increases. Minister Browne said he was engaging with Higher Education Minister James Lawless to ensure that students in student-specific accommodation would be protected. However, he said that there 'won't be any special measures put in in terms of the private rental sector' for students, as it would 'become impossible to police or to manage in those services'. He continued: 'There's always, I suppose, challenges like that. Students, nurses, gardaí, doctors, consultants. 'There is no special exemptions in current law for people in that particular situation and there won't be under the new legislation either as drafted. 'I think to try and engineer into the legislation that a landlord would then have to identify what that person's role [is]… 'Are they a student? Are they a full-time student? Part-time student? What qualifies a student? 'It will be unworkable and I think it would be unenforceable.' The Cabinet also agreed to sign off on former HSE Chief Paul Reid as head of An Coimisiún Pleanála. Mr Browne confirmed to the Irish Mirror that Mr Reid will be paid €50,000 a year and was 'not aware' of any allowances. He stated that Mr Reid has 'governance and management experience'. The Housing Minister also stated that he is 'very hopeful' that the legislation extending RPZs nationwide will be passed by the end of the week. The Dáil will debate the legislation today [weds] where it is expected to pass all stages. It is then expected to be rushed through the Seanad on Thursday. Minister Browne said that landlords not currently covered by RPZ legislation 'can't simply hike up rents' but there 'may be a few landlords who haven't done a review, might be carrying it out at the moment'. It follows suggestions from Labour's housing spokesman Conor Sheehan that there was anecdotal evidence of landlords attempting to increase rents before the RPZs came in. In the Dáil, Leaders' Questions were dominated by housing ahead of the 'Raise the Roof' protest outside Leinster House from 6pm. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said that the Government's plans for the rental sector include ' forcing ripped off renters to carry the can for your failure' and a 'rent hike Bill.' She said: 'All renters will be subject to big hikes over time. Those moving into new build properties will be hit with massive market rent from day one, while those who move frequently for work and education and regularly enter new tenancies will be absolutely hammered.' Taoiseach Micheál Martin argued, however, that the reforms meant that 'renters will have stronger protections than ever before' as the whole country will be subject to rent increase caps. Labour leader Ivana Bacik accused the Government of 'chaotic decision making, u-turns, drip feeds and hasty rewrites of flawed press releases'. She added: 'Anyone watching will be wondering when you're going to take political responsibility for the housing crisis. 'You're the Taoiseach, you're in government, your party and Fine Gael have effectively governed together for the best part of a decade and yet you are resorting to throwing critiques at the opposition for not building homes.' This led to a heated exchange between Mr Martin and Ms Bacik, as the Taoiseach told her that Labour 'could have been in Government' following the last election but 'didn't have the courage'. Hundreds of people gathered outside Leinster House on Tuesday evening for the Raise the Roof protest. The group heard from political parties and trade unions calling for a change in the Government's housing policy. Ms McDonald said the protest had gathered to 'call out the Government' and their 'spoof and outright lies'. She accused the Government of 'normalising' homelessness. She said: 'This housing crisis now affects every family, affects every aspect of Irish society. We are in this together, and we are strong, and we will face them down, call them out, force their hand. 'Housing a home is a human right. Dignity is a human right. Our renters cannot be again put to the pin of their collar and screwed because the Government wants to lick the boots of cuckoos and vultures and big investment funds. 'Our message today to Micheál Martin and Simon Harris is, lads, the game is up. 'The people are at the gate.' 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 .
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Daily Mirror
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.
