Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will stay away from Second Stage speeches but I acknowledge and appreciate the Deputy's support for the Bill. I thank him for recognising some of the impact that it will make. Putting something like "emergency" in the Title is tokenistic. I do not think it is true that the Deputy would bring those proposals forward if he was Minister because they are not constitutional and they would not be retrospective, so he would not be able to do that. It is important to recognise the help that this will give to people. As for the example the Deputy cited, for instance, there is now a definition of substantial refurbishments within the Bill. There is not a question of protracted engagement with the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB. It is clear-cut. There are measures in section 34 relating to notices to the RTB and the rights that fall to the tenants if section 34 is not applied in the appropriate way. The example that the Deputy cited will help people where it has not helped before. I suppose that is why he is supporting the Bill. I recognise that it does not go as far as he would like it to. There are important constitutional considerations that I have to take on board that I believe the Deputy would have to take on board too if he was in this position.