Sir, - The lack of rent-capping legislation makes a mockery of the Government's recent proposals to guarantee private tenants security in their homes, and contributes directly to the general housing crisis in Dublin today.
Private tenants are effectively being priced out of their homes, constructively evicted every time a rent review arises. Average rents in Dublin today illustrate that landlords have certainly not been slow to exploit both the shortage of accommodation in the city and the freedom allowed by the present legislation to raise rents arbitrarily.
Many people in their 20s and 30s, not at the upper end of the salary scale, are now unable to live alone, unable to pay into any pension or health plans, and unable to save for a mortgage. The high proportion of income given over to rent makes the prospect of home ownership dim and distant for many.
This is the archetypal situation among private renters in the age of the Celtic Tiger which should surely ring alarm bells for any states-person genuinely concerned with creating a just society, healthy economy and sustainable state. A generation who cannot afford to pay into pension plans, who cannot afford to have children and who cannot afford to buy homes, is surely going to become a strain on a depleted pool of taxpayers.
Increased tax-free allowances, rent caps, minimum space requirements and realistic government subsidies for first-time buyers are short-term solutions that will ease the struggle for many. But without more serious Government intervention we are headed for disaster.
Who will support today's 20-somethings when we become tomorrow's 60-somethings? If today's Government continues to stand idly by while its young taxpayers are priced out of their own futures, we certainly won't be supporting ourselves. - Yours, etc.,
Sadhbh O'Connor, Booterstown, Co Dublin
Joseph Hoban, Cowper Road, Dublin 6