Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

None of those instances is relevant with regard to this issue, which boils down to the elephant in the corner which nobody is mentioning. If we were to intervene and change contracts that were validly entered into without the consent of the two parties involved and where one is objecting, we would have to provide compensation. The taxpayer would have to provide this to people disadvantaged as a result of us passing such a law. What the Labour Party and Fine Gael are not saying is that the taxpayers, in effect, would have to put a hand in their pocket because of a law we passed and give money to landlords in order to compensate them for the loss of property right.

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