Sir, – Jim O’Sullivan does not deal with or assess my substantive suggestion that the latest ESRI report on the housing market should guide policy for all political parties (“Exodus of landlords from rental market”, Letters, July 26th). Instead, he writes that I am “determined to misunderstand” what is behind the current housing crisis. He could have comprehensively assessed the issues I raised or presented evidence to an alternative point of view. He does not.
Mr O’Sullivan is of the view that “the State should be encouraging landlords to exit the market in an orderly fashion” (Letters, April 7th). And it appears that he does not like my assessment that landlords are leaving the market in droves due to overburdensome regulations, high taxation and continuing vilification (Letters, July 25th).
I argue that no volume of extra new housing stock for sale privately or via additional social or affordable stock will resolve the demand for private rental. Not everyone wants to buy a home or live in social housing yet we all need somewhere to live.
It should be self-evident that a housing market needs a properly functioning rental market and that a rental market needs private landlords, especially given the attractiveness of Ireland to inward migrants and the large ongoing population increases each year. This small damp island on the western periphery of Europe appears to be a very compelling location for migrant people to live and also for highly successful multinational companies to operate and often base European headquarters. Ireland continues to be rated as one of the very best places in the world to live. We live freely here, with a sound democracy, good education and the best social welfare system in the OECD. Public services are by and large freely available.
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Our system of governance and public administration is devoid of corruption and bribery. Good paying jobs are plentiful and unemployment is exceptionally modest. Low earners are not required to pay income tax and higher earners are heavily taxed. These policies and rights are desired throughout the world and most residents of this planet would dearly love to live in a country like ours. Clearly Government policy is driving these desirable outcomes.
But this attractive country also requires an attractive rental market with plentiful supply of rental properties.
Instead the rental market is in major trouble as waves of investors take their capital elsewhere, dismayed by high taxation, vilification and the insatiable demand from the left for more regulation – banning rent increases and banning evictions.
Economists since Assar Lindbeck in the 1960s have demonstrated the destructive nature of excessive regulation on rental markets and it is high time for more acceptance of obvious facts here. – Yours, etc,
MARK MOHAN,
Dublin 15.