Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses and have read their document. I concur with Deputy O'Sullivan's remarks on the standard of accommodation. Some of what I have seen is appalling and I am delighted to hear they are inspected. When properties are inspected and the landlord is asked to do certain things, is there another inspection to make sure it has been done?

Regarding rent certainty, people have informed me that they are being told the property will go up for sale. However, some months later the property is not for sale, but the people have had to leave because the landlord is getting a higher income privately. That is what I can see happening with rent certainty.

Tenants are increasingly coming to me to find out what are their rights. What could be done to make people more aware of their tenancy rights? How could the committee enforce something like that in the future? What does the Residential Tenancies Board do for them?

Older people in the rental sector have increasingly reduced incomes. I would advocate that the council and voluntary housing agencies should build more for senior citizens. For the older people I deal with who are not in local authority senior citizen accommodation, the rents they are paying are huge compared with those of council tenants. Do the witnesses have any comments on that aspect?