It “beggars belief” that the cost-of-living plan unveiled by the Government does not address soaring rents, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said.
During leaders’ questions in the Dáil on Tuesday, Ms McDonald said the measures proposed did nothing to tackle the State’s housing crisis.
But Taoiseach Leo Varadkar insisted that measures had already been introduced to help renters, and pointed out that Tuesday’s package was not designed to be a budget.
The Government package includes €1.3 billion of measures, including a €200 payment for working families on low incomes, a €200 lump sum for pensioners, carers, people with disabilities, widows and lone parents in April; a €100 sum for child benefit recipients in June; and €100 extra added to the school clothing and footwear allowance.
Reacting to the announcement, Ms McDonald told TDs: “For the life of me I can’t understand how the three men leading Government, after two months in talks, could produce a package that is silent on housing.
“We know that extortionate housing costs are at the very heart of this crisis and yet there is nothing here for renters.
“These are workers and families fleeced by hike after hike, paying out the lion’s share of their income on rent.
“There is nothing here for mortgage holders either. Battered by a barrage of interest rate increases.
“They are forced to pay hundreds more in mortgage repayments and there is still more to come. The pressure is enormous.
“Many renters and mortgage holders are wondering how much more they can take. They are hanging on by a thread.
“And yet, it seems they didn’t even cross your mind when Government put this package together.”
She added: “Many of our young people are forced out of Ireland because they can’t afford a roof over their heads. They have lost hope of a good life at home because government consistently fails to see the bigger picture on the issues affecting their lives.
“They watch Government fiddle around the edges but never show any real ambition to fix housing.”
However, the Taoiseach said the Government had responded “dynamically” to help people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
He added: “You mentioned the issue of rents and mortgage holders. This wasn’t a budget, it wasn’t a mini-budget, we didn’t plan it to be as such.
“But there is a rent tax credit introduced in the last couple of weeks.
“People are claiming it now, about 200,000 renters will benefit from that.”
Ms McDonald responded: “It beggars belief that you would produce any package that completely ignores the fact that rents are still out of control.
“Rents need to come down and that will require government to take action. It is not sufficient for you to say this isn’t a budget.
“You said very clearly that there would be a cost-of-living package, that you are aware since coming back as Taoiseach that we have a housing emergency and that it would be your top priority.
“Well, you could have fooled the renters and the mortgage holders because that’s not what your package says.”
Mr Varadkar said: “There is one thing I agree with you on. Rents do need to come down, rents are very high in Ireland and are out of kilter with comparable countries and cities and regions.
“There are ways we can do that. One of those is the rent tax credit.”
Social Democrats co-leader Roisin Shortall said: “The cost-of-living package which your Cabinet agreed today is wholly inadequate.
“It goes nowhere near meeting the desperate need of so many workers and families who are really struggling just to keep their head above water.
“Once again your entire focus is on once-off measures. But people need to know how they will pay their soaring bills, not just this week, or next week, but next month and the months following that.”
Mr Varadkar said it was “patently untrue” that the Government was not assisting the weakest in society.
