asked the Minister for Local Government whether he is aware of the dissatisfaction created amongst Dublin Corporation tenants by the announcement that the corporation propose, under a differential rents scheme, to fix the rents of all flats and cottages built since October, 1948, on the basis of the income of the whole family, instead of that of the tenant or the principals of the family, that this will lead to excessive rents being demanded and will give no opportunity to the younger members of the family to save for marriage and homes of their own, and will alter considerably the methods of preparing the cost-of-living index figures, and whether he will call a conference of the housing director and his advisers together with representatives of the tenants and their legal advisers who were not previously consulted, and in the meantime order a withdrawal of the notices served on the tenants of the dwellings affected.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Corporation Rents.
Mr. Byrne
I am not aware of the dissatisfaction referred to by the Deputy, nor am I aware that the differential rents scheme will lead to excessive rents being demanded in view of the fact that such rents, while based on ability to pay, will be subject to a fixed maximum rent for each type of dwelling. The scheme of differential rents gives special concessions to members of the family other than the principal earner by providing that the first 5/- of the incomes of such other members shall be disregarded in the assessment of the combined family income and by limiting the maximum income to be taken into account in such cases to £2 a week.
I am not aware of any evidence in support of the Deputy's contention that the corporation's differential rent scheme will alter considerably the method of preparing the cost-of-living index figures.
As the Deputy is no doubt aware, the differential rents scheme was adopted by the corporation's housing committee and, in the circumstances, I cannot accept the suggestion made in the last part of the Deputy's question.
Will the Minister arrange with the Dublin Corporation that implementation of this scheme, in so far as the increase in rents is concerned, will be deferred until after the local elections, so that the new corporation will have an opportunity of considering all the complaints which Deputy Byrne and other Deputies representing Dublin have received as a result of the very heavy increase in rents which have been notified?
I do not know if I am asked to subscribe to the suggestion that the new corporation will be any better than the old body with respect to fixing these rents.