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

I will speak to both amendments. We have discussed both at length and I am not looking to open up the debate but just to make the case briefly. The issue of vacant possession notice to quit is significant and everybody knows why. Amendment No. 50 seeks to remove sale of property as a ground for issuing a termination notice. At some point we have to move to a rental market where properties are rental properties just like in the commercial rental market. While we should allow landlords to sell their properties, they should sell with the tenancy intact and as a going concern rather than the current situation. The Minister has spoken on several occasions about the need to professionalise the landlord sector and move towards the kind of sector that exists in other European countries. This is the norm in many of those countries in that kind of rental market and, therefore, it makes eminent sense.

Likewise, amendment No. 51 seeks to remove the use of a family member as a ground for termination of tenancy. If a person has a rental property in a rental market, the notion that it is acceptable in the current climate to evict one family to house members of his or her extended family is problematic. I understand where it comes from and I understand the consequences but these are both necessary as we professionalise and improve our rental market into the future.