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

I have not seen the legal opinion so I cannot comment on that. Given that the restriction applies to commercial rentals, it has to be legally possible, whether retrospectively or not, to apply the same rule to new tenancies.

On the issue of the impact, it is not that I do not care about the impact on the property owner but, to use a phrase that the Minister and his predecessor always like to use, we need to strike a balance between the rights of the landlord and those of the tenant.

Vacant possession and notice to quit are the leading forms of family homelessness. They account for 70% according to Focus Ireland, less according to the RTB so there is another side to this equation of what happens to those families. There is also a significant cost to the State because if a family spends between six and 24 months, or more, in emergency accommodation that costs. While I understand the argument about the loss, whether as a percentage of the profits or of the overall value of the house, there is also a loss to the taxpayer from not taking action, whether this or something else.

I know I am not going to convince the Minister to change his mind. There is nothing bar an extension of the notice period, which we will come to later, for those families currently subject to vacant possession or notice to quit and I urge him, as I did during the Second Stage debate on our legislation, to consider that issue. He is engaging with the NGOs to find some way to tackle the issue of reducing the flow of families into homelessness.

I urge the Minister to look at that issue, as I did during the Second Stage debate on our legislation. I know he is engaging with the NGOs to find some way of reducing the flow of families into homelessness. If he rejects this provision, there is an onus on him to bring something else forward. If he does and it is positive, he will certainty receive the support of Sinn Féin. Of itself, extending the notice period will not protect those families who either have a vacant possession notice to quit today or will imminently get one. I accept that it gives them a little more time to find a place, but it does not stem the flow of families into the homeless system or into being at risk of homelessness.