Renters no better off in Budget 2020

Labour spokesperson on Housing, Deputy Jan O’Sullivan, has said the Government has failed to deliver a housing budget that will radically address the ongoing crisis.

Deputy O’Sullivan said:

“The housing and homelessness crisis is one of the biggest issues this country has ever faced.

“We needed to see radical proposals in this Budget to tackle it. Instead we’re seeing more of the same.

“The cost of renting a home is now higher than it was at the height of the boom.

“But we have seen no relief for hard-pressed renters in Budget 2020, other than €2m in funding allocated to the Residential Tenancies Board to boost enforcement of Rent Pressure Zones.

“As we all know, RPZs have failed to cap spiralling rents, and for many in high demand areas such as Dublin in particular, a four per cent increase on rent is itself significant. The Labour Party proposed freezing rents for a time to give renters some breathing room.

“There’s no step-change in the snail’s pace delivery of social housing, no affordable housing, minimal support for retrofitting for low-income households…no ambition.

“Does the Government not know the struggles people face or do they not care?