Mary White (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. This issue is critical for us, particularly in regard to the difficulties in the retail sector and the many thousands of small and medium enterprises which are struggling at this time. Many individuals and families are struggling and experiencing heavy pressure but there is no monopoly on struggle at this time, when there is worry about paying the bills, whether domestic bills or rent and service charges, which, in many cases, are levelled by faceless pension companies and offshore companies simply popping these rate and rent demands through to struggling retailers.

I have personal experience of this, having been a victim of upward-only rent reviews before I got into politics. I can tell the House it is a shock when one's rent and service charges are doubled. While there may not be an upward-only rent review clause written into the contract, the tenant negotiates with the landlord, some of whom, quite honestly, have no conscience when they are negotiating with struggling retailers. I experienced this for many years as a bookseller, so I believe this debate is very timely.

The gravity of these issues should ensure that all of us, not just politicians, take issues such as rent reviews and rent prices seriously. Regrettably, I am unable to decide whether the Labour Party is being serious with the Bill it has brought before the House. It brought a similar Bill before the House last year and that legislation was panned by Government and, indeed, by Fine Gael because of its legal infeasibility.

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