Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

When the Minister directs the Department to examine the issue of taxation within the property market, will he ask his officials to examine the other end of the spectrum, namely, small landlords? As he will be aware, a big problem in the context of the housing market and homelessness throughout the country is the level of churning. When a lease expires, it may not be reviewed because the landlord may be able to make more money elsewhere. The tenants will then be in a panic to try to find an alternative property, which is very difficult, especially in areas where housing is in high demand. It is an issue in some parts of my constituency, as it is throughout the country. Currently, if a farmer leases out land, there is an incentive to enter a long-term lease. The Bill has addressed the churning problem in the case of agricultural land, given that in the past, all the land in the country tended to be leased for 11 months. Nowadays, the majority of leases are for five years, ten years or even longer. It has brought stability to the market and reduced the level of churning of land.

There is also an opportunity to examine the matter in terms of property. Why do we try, for good policy reasons, to bring about stability in land-leasing in order that young farmers can invest and grow their farm, yet we are not prepared to bring about stability in the housing market? We should consider some type of support to encourage landlords to enter into five and even ten-year leases, which is common practice throughout Europe but, historically, has not been the case here. We have turned that around for agricultural land because of changes to our taxation structure and we can do the same in the case of the housing market. I ask the Minister to consider the overall issue of property taxation.