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

I have three quick supplementary points. I would add a note of caution to Mr. Dunne's optimistic view of the real estate investment trusts, REITs, on two grounds. First, there is a growing body of evidence here and internationally that where a real estate investment trust, REIT, purchases tenanted properties, there can be an even greater insecurity because it wants to get those tenants out and replace them with a more lucrative set of tenants.

That is something we need to be very concerned about.

More importantly, given the very generous tax benefits of real estate investment trusts or Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicles, ICAVs, not just here but internationally, there is growing evidence to suggest that their involvement in the rental market, particularly those that are more short-term in nature rather than the older longer-term pension fund investors, can lead to real affordability problems. That is something we are seeing in big cities. I mention that as a caution.

On security of tenure, in section 34, we have to make a decision at some point about whether we want amateur or professional landlords. I often use the following comparison. If I get into a taxi and halfway through the journey, the taxi driver stops the car asks me to get out because he has to go to pick up his daughter, nobody would think that was normal but that is what we allow landlords to do. They can enter into a tenancy agreement, but halfway through that tenancy agreement they can ask one to leave because they want to look after a family member. I understand why that was done when it was done. The difficulty is that it incentivises a lot of semi-professional accidental landlords. Many of those landlords should not be in the market but we need them to stay. At some point, however, we need to have a conversation about what it means to be professional landlord. There is a level of regulation and certification that applies a taxi driver or a door person but that does not apply to a landlord. I ask the witness to think about that.

If the budget allocation for the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, is €500,000 shy of what was requested, does the witness know at this stage what will not be covered by the €500,000 that has not been provided? Are there things the RTB wanted to do with those funds that will not now be possible because the Government has only allocated €2 million rather than €2.5 million?