Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

-----or a mixture of two to three months deposits and rent in advance are becoming the norm in many parts of this city. It is being used by some landlords to circumvent the good regulations that were introduced to make it illegal to refuse to accept housing assistance payment, HAP, and rent supplement tenants. I am not surprised people are not complaining to the Residential Tenancies Board because it is happening at that end of the market where people are quite desperate. Rather than wait until there is a large body of evidence, if it is something we consider is wrong, is there some way something can be done about this now because it is a problem?

With respect to HAP tenants, the one recommendation I would urge the Minister to make, and I have asked him to do this before, is to allow HAP tenants access to choice based letting. It is happening in South Dublin County Council and it would ensure long-term housing list applicants will not have to make the very different choice between going into the HAP scheme and losing their place on the primary housing list. I know they go onto a transfer list but it is not the same. It is a very small but a very profound change.

Can the Minister tell us what actions he has taken since the RTÉ "Prime Time Investigates" documentary on the private rental sector? There are three particular areas I am concerned about, including the need to update the overcrowding legislation because managers in local authorities are telling us that the existing legislation is outdated. Is there some way online advertising of substandard properties can be outlawed or action can be taken against platforms that promote it, such as Facebook or Daft.ie? Is there some way of bringing forward the increased targets for inspections? Four local authorities have inspection rates of over 20% to 25%. If they can do it, others can do it too. I am concerned that the 2021 deadline is too long.

What is the delay is with further regulation or legislation on the short-term letting sector?