On the day that this Government’s first landmark housing Bill is expected to be signed into law, it appears that it is tenants and politicians, rather than high rents, that are in the pressure zone.
Reform of rent pressure zones (RPZs) has been the political story of the week. Legislation to extend RPZs to the entire country passed the Dáil yesterday and is due to be rushed through the Seanad today. If President Michael D Higgins signs the legislation immediately, we would all be waking up tomorrow in an almost all-island RPZ.
Minister for Housing James Browne may be feeling a little beleaguered having spent the week mounting a gallant defence of his RPZ reforms from attacks from the Opposition, doctors, students, protesters and Airbnb owners. So he will not thank the Central Bank for its assessment of the impact of RPZs, which it says will be “painful” for renters.
In our lead story today, Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports from the launch of the Central Bank’s quarterly bulletin where the bank’s director of economics and statistics was asked about the reforms.
Any delight the Government may feel about Robert Kelly’s assessment that the reforms will increase supply will be blunted by the Central Bank downgrading its forecasts for new home completions in the near term.
Under the Government’s proposals, any pain will have to come before the gain. Even in the best case scenario, it’s almost certain that many tenants will see their rents rocket to high market rates long before any new apartments are built.
And the Government won’t have much time to catch its breath between one high profile political issue and another.
My colleague Jack Horgan-Jones was reporting last night that, in advance of some version of the Occupied Territories Bill (OTB) going to Cabinet next week, it’s expected that the proposed law will not include services.
The Government benches will likely spend next week in defence mode again, due to the extremely high profile nature of the OTB and the significant public interest in it.
Opposition smells blood in the water over RPZ changes
Health
Representatives of Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) are due to appear before politicians on the health committee this morning, to answer questions about how children with dysplasia and scoliosis have been treated at Ireland’s paediatric hospitals. New chief executive Lucy Nugent will be under pressure to get a conciliatory tone right, as TDs and senators are already extremely suspicious of what they perceive as a toxic culture that is embedded within CHI.
Meanwhile, another health issue continues to dominate the political agenda. Following his appearance before the same health committee yesterday, Minister of State for older people Kieran O’Donnell said that the Department of Health has commissioned a report on the effect that mass privatisation of the nursing home sector has had on the standards of care offered to older and more vulnerable people.
As Shauna Bowers and Marie O’Halloran are reporting today, this follows a programme by RTÉ Investigates that highlighted instances of alleged abuse at Beneavin Manor, Dublin, and The Residence, Portlaoise. Both homes are run by Emeis, the largest provider of private nursing home beds in the State.
It comes after the Taoiseach Micheál Martin told the Dáil that the “nuclear option” of closing a nursing home for significant failings “has to be on the table”.
He said it was up to the HSE and others “to resolve the consequential crisis that occurs when a decision to close is made. But we shouldn’t baulk from that decision because of that.” The Taoiseach said he had “no issue” with larger fines for repeated failures but stressed closure had to be an option.
Middle East
It would be easy to keep an insular focus on our own domestic affairs, while ominous reports of the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran continue to threaten the front pages.
As well as comprehensive coverage in our World News section of the crisis – including Michael Jansen’s analysis of how Iran’s regional allies cannot help, and the Iranian TV anchor who has become a national symbol of resistance after being bombed while live on air – Sally Hayden has a report on the cryptic clues from US president Donald Trump about the US possibly intervening on behalf of Israel.
“I may do it, I may not do it, nobody knows what I’m going to do. I can tell you this: that Iran’s got a lot of trouble.”
It comes as we wake up to reports from the other side of the Atlantic that Trump has approved plans to attack Iran, but according to CBS has not yet made a final decision on whether to strike the Middle Eastern nuclear power.
Best reads
Miriam Lord is writing about the righteous anguish of the Taoiseach, who is aggrieved at how many interruptions he’s enduring in the Dail.
Mark Paul takes us inside the feverish melee at Westminster Magistrates Court, where Kneecap’s Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh got the rockstar treatment at his hearing on Wednesday. Ó hAnnaidh, whose stage name is Mo Chara, was charged under UK anti-terrorism legislation with showing support for a proscribed organisation.
Newton Emerson writes in his column today about how he turned to YouTuber ‘FreedomDad73′ for live coverage of the Ballymena riots, and what that means about media coverage in Northern Ireland and more broadly.
Dáil schedule
8.47am Oral questions to Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke
10.24am Oral questions to Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary
12.00pm Leaders’ Questions
12.34pm Other Members’ Questions
12.42pm Questions on policy or legislation
1.52pm Government Business is second stage of the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill 2025, which is a bill about royalty payments designed to bring Ireland in line with an EU Copyright Directive
5.26pm Topical issues
6.26pm Private Members’ Bill, which is second stage of Sinn Féin’s Healthcare (Transparent Payments) Bill 2022 – a bill which would require healthcare workers to declare gifts and payments that they receive.
In the Seanad
9.30am Commencement matters
10.30am Order of Business
11.45am Government business, which is devoted to passing all stages of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2025 – making the entire country a Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) ...
1.45pm ... followed by a motion without debate allowing the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2025 to be signed into law quickly
2.00pm Government business is committee stage of the Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill 2024
Oireachtas committtes
Today’s Oireachtas committee meetings include an high profile appearance of CHI before the health committee and scrutiny of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025, legislation to unravel the triple lock, before the Joint Committee on Defence and National Security.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is busy with a number of C & AG reports, including one on the Department of Housing’s decision to grant exceptional funding to the Peter McVerry Trust.
The Joint Committee on Key Issues Affecting the Traveller Community will consider the current funding strategy for Traveller-specific accommodation.
You can read the full schedule here
