Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

The Minister with responsibility for housing has made a number of announcements on spending €20 million a year to rent houses in the private sector. First, will this proposal be brought before the House in the form of legislation, or will the Minister operate outside the legislation and have no debate here on the matter?

Second, will it require changes to the Housing Act or the Residential Tenancies Act? The Minister is committed to spending perhaps €400 million over the next 20 years. It beggars belief that he is discussing this on the airwaves when he has not debated the matter in the House.

See this speech in context