Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Deputy Catherine Martin.

Perhaps the Minister could explain the logic of not having a definition of "deposit". It is something that could affect the other aspects of the Bill. There is obviously a reason. In respect of our own amendment, I understand that there could be a cost implication and I understand about deposit interest rates being zero at the moment. No one is suggesting that within the creation of a national rent deposit scheme there would not be an administrative fee for holding a safe deposit. It should be possible for the Department to come back to that in a report. All we are asking for is that we do not leave this indefinitely just because it is thought to be complex and costly or because it is this, that and the other. The Department should say it is going to come back within 12 months and lay out the options. Maybe one of the findings will be that it is not actually required and we do not need to do it. I encourage the Minister to accept amendment No. 183 on that basis. It does not tie his hands or tell him to do anything, with the exception of coming back here within 12 months to tell us where things stand. There is an issue with security of deposits as rents get higher. We all want to tackle driving down rents or at least seeing the inflationary nature of rents reducing. A deposit is a substantial fee. All we are asking is for a provision to come back in 12 months to report on the options for a national rent deposit scheme. If administrative cost is the issue, if I was lodging €2,000 with a landlord for my deposit, we could look at an administrative fee as part of that, to at least know the deposit is secure. We continue to hear complaints. It is interesting to hear that there has been a reduction in the number of complaints to the RTB about deposits. That is welcome. However, we will all still be very aware of these issues when they arise within our own constituencies. In the main it is the landlord who holds the deposit. The landlord can then withhold the deposit and all those complaints go to the RTB. They take up a lot of time. I agree with Deputy Ó Broin that there is a saving here. There could be a saving to the RTB in respect of time expended dealing with complaints around deposits. I do not wish to be obstructionist but I intend to press amendment No. 183. It makes sense. There is a statement of intent there.