Mr. Tom O'Brien:

We have been asked to address what is in the Bill. How do we do that without pointing out some of the obvious issues inherent in it? If I may finish, reference was made to other countries which were cherry-picked that they would align or be consistent with the paper. The most obvious country which was not mentioned and which is culturally, economically and systemically consistent with Ireland is the UK. That was conveniently left out. Does Deputy Jan O'Sullivan know what the position of the UK is in respect of the proposals? Is she aware of the position regarding eviction when rent is not paid? Does she know what the UK position is in relation to positive protection?

It is an example of what we have seen with all policy in recent years. The countries that suit the argument best are cherry-picked. A bit is taken from the UK system and from those of Germany and so on, and one gets very poor and misguided policy as a result. I might sound frustrated. The reason is because we are frustrated. We have been before the Oireachtas on several occasions and we feel it is only a box-ticking exercise. Our views are not listened to. The outcome is that the State finds itself in its current position whereby there is a lack of supply. The unintended consequence of the Bill will be that existing stock will be further undermined and reduced. We are two or three years down the line and we are no further in terms of addressing the housing shortage.

Deputy Casey raised issues regarding the fairness of deposits and whether a two-month deposit is fair. Is it fair that a landlord would be left with no rent for the past three months, that there be damages to his or her property and not being able to retain the deposit as compensation? The thing has to be fair both ways. We are mute on refurbishment. We think that if a landlord does substantial refurbishment, he or she will be able to get a return on that investment. Why would anybody invest money in refurbishing a property that meets the minimum standards if he or she cannot increase the rent? The unintended consequence that will arise is that in three or four years there will be a very tired supply of stock. There will be people who are looking to relocate to quality stock, those looking to work with companies such as Facebook and Google, who come with a particular expectation of accommodation standards but this country will not be able to provide it because the legislation does not allow landlords to refurbish.

I do not need to offer my views on rent pressure zones. I do not know how a tenancy register will in any way comply with GDPR legislation. That is not something that the Oireachtas can deal with locally. It is an EU law.