Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Deputy Ellis concerning the difficulties he has outlined. If a person cannot get their deposit back and the community welfare officer will not grant a deposit, they can very easily end up homeless. The average deposit is approximately €1,000, but for somebody on social welfare payments that is a fortune. There is no way they will be able to make that up if it is not refunded.

We are trying to change the culture because there are 100,000 people on the housing waiting list. Approximately 40% of rented properties are occupied by people in receipt of rent assistance. That group of tenants is very exposed in this situation. In attempting to create a balance of rights, I would have thought the deposit retention issue would have to have been a feature of this Bill.

There is a desire that the process concerning the Private Residential Tenancies Board would move more quickly. One of the issues that takes up most of the board's time is the return of deposits. How can one streamline the system if that one item continues to absorb all the PRTB staff's time? Will extra staff be put in to deal with it? This has to worked out on a practical level, so it should be a feature of the Bill before us.