Labour representative has criticised the government, claiming the €500 tax credit will not make much of an impact without an emergency rent freeze.
Senator Moynihan said: "Without a rent freeze, this credit will be quickly gobbled up by rent increases for most. Renters need certainty and meaningful protections to keep them in their homes this winter. To protect people this winter, Labour has called for a rent freeze and eviction ban. Without these time-limited and targeted measures, renters will once again bear the brunt of poor policy planning.
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"The Housing Minister knows his time is limited, he knows that there is a generation of renters waiting for the first opportunity to vote him out of office. This entire Budget ranks of a panicked effort to dazzle people with measures that are entirely untargeted, attempting to mask over the systemic issues at the core of the housing crisis.
"Let there be no doubt, renters are suffering hard and deep, and what has been announced today will not provide the certainty they need around security of tenure this winter, nor the clarity needed that their rent won't rise in line with the tax credit announced.
"The continued mishandling of the Housing portfolio is another mark of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's ignorance of the realities of hard pressed households. Already, we are seeing an incredible rise in no-fault evictions. There has been nothing announced today that will prevent the expected surge in homelessness this winter. Budget 2023 should have included an emergency rent freeze and eviction ban. Instead, the Minister for Headlines is attempting one last roll of the dice to pull the wool over people's eyes."
