Community Action Tenants Union condemns the Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s recent comments that Rent Pressure Zones are to be scrapped in order to “create a stable environment in which to invest.” CATU calls on the Taoiseach to clarify the measures to replace the RPZ and ensure it will increase security for tenants and bring down rents. Rents in Ireland are already amongst the highest in Europe. Rent Pressure Zones are far from perfect, and effectively grant landlords a mechanism to raise rents every year. However dropping this limitation without bringing down rents and implementing a rent freeze will have dire consequences for tenants. A third of tenants in Ireland spend over half of their income on rent, and while wages have only risen by 1% after inflation in recent years, rents have increased by 8%. Some counties have seen even more dramatic increases with Galway facing a 70% increase over five years. 

 

Speaking on this news, CATU member Juliana Sassi commented, “The Taoiseach’s announcement that RPZs will be scrapped in order to create ‘a stable environment’ for investment funds is an insult to the 14,000 people in our state who are currently homeless. Will this help over 4,000 children who are living in homeless accommodation in the State? Will it serve workers who are scrapping by to hand over half their income every month?” 

 

Amelia Melanson, CATU member in Rathmines commented: “The Government is parroting a myth that landlords are fleeing the market in Ireland and that our rental system is to blame. This is a total lie – RTB’s own research shows the number of private landlords in Ireland rose 7% last year. Vestry, a vulture fund which is currently trying to illegally evict a number of CATU members in Dublin 1, scooped up over 850 second hand homes over three years.”

 

Since the Taoiseach’s comments, CATU has received significant interest and support from people across the country worried about how these measures will affect them. This should serve as a warning to the Taoiseach that tenants will not take any attempts to undermine our housing security lying down. CATU is ready to take action to defend our members and protect our communities from investors looking to exploit our need for safe housing. 

 

Speaking on the measures CATU want to see implemented, Melanson continued 

“The priority of Governments North and South should be reducing rents so that homelessness decreases and communities have more security and stability. It should be about building public housing to the scale that this housing emergency requires. We will not tolerate any attempt by the Irish Government to treat our members like a bottomless pit for corporate landlords to exploit.”

 

For media enquiries: Rosaleen Leonard  0894900907

Notes:

 

CATU is currently organising in 22 counties across Ireland including Cork, Belfast, Galway, Dublin, Derry, Sligo, Waterford and Limerick. It is Ireland’s only national tenants’ and community union.