Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I did not say anything in the last discussion because I wanted to get my head around it. As it happens, I commend the Minister. I think it is quite a radical measure. It is welcome. I am not sure how many properties it will free up but it will certainly help, so fair play to the Minister. My comment is on the Bill itself. The Bill contains plans to impose administrative sanctions, carry out investigations of landlords, to extend notice periods, registration of landlords and tenancies, publication of determinations and so on. They are all welcome and I will support the Bill. I think this is also a missed opportunity to go further given the scale of the crisis that we are facing. If it was me bringing forward this Bill, it would be called the residential tenancies (emergency measures) Bill and it would have more in it. However much this Bill is a step forward, which it is, it will not address the crisis. It may have some impact, which is to be welcomed, but it is not up to the scale of the crisis. Most obviously, evictions are a major reason for the flow into homelessness and the Bill does not address that. That is a missed opportunity. We have amendments to that effect in different sections so I will not delay at this point. I would like to hear the Minister's response to that.

Across the road from my constituency office in Dún Laoghaire is a block of apartments. In that block of apartments, which I am pretty certain was in the hands of NAMA and then ended up in the hands of a crowd called Apollo Global Management-----