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

I am pointing out to the Minister that is not what has happened. There should be measures to deal with that fact but there are not. The people who have come in are simply looking to buy into the market, wait for property values to increase and sometimes use refurbishment as the way to drive up the value. That is what they are doing. I, again, cite the place across the road from my clinic. That is exactly what they are doing. As we speak, they are making substantial refurbishments to ten of those apartments. That will drive up the value. When the number of existing tenants in the occupied places drops to nine, I guarantee they will move to sell that place and to benefit from the capital appreciation.

On the amendment itself, we need to close off all loopholes that could lead to eviction at present and that is the logic of this. There is no justification for any evictions at this juncture.