Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

Yes, there are two specific pieces of legislation. Yesterday afternoon representatives of the retail industry met the Tánaiste to express their concerns with regard to upward rents and the practice which is now developing among landlords to increase rents to such an extent that thousands of jobs are threatened around the country. During the discussion, they also mentioned the legislative difficulties which currently exist regarding the arbitration process, whereby retailers are unable to deal appropriately and in a fair way with landlords. The most critical point is that a number of landlords around the country, as part of their engagement with NAMA, are increasing rents in order to increase the valuation of their loan book.

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