Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise two points. I am not sure I would go down the referendum route. We have discussed this matter on numerous occasions in recent years. However, a case could be made to revisit the issue in the context of Mr. Justice Charleton's judgment yesterday. The current position is unsatisfactory and unfair. We have a two-tier system covering pre-2010 leases which cannot be reviewed and leases post-2010 which cannot contain an upward-only rent review clause. That is unjust and unsatisfactory.

We must recall the fact that upward-only rent reviews were originally designed to ensure rent kept pace with inflation. This concept is long since outdated and obsolete considering that thousands of rents in this city and beyond are artificially set at rates many multiples of what the rate of inflation would determine. This is unsustainable and unjust. It contrasts with the fact that Government and banks are spending time and energy seeking solutions to help householders who are unable to meet mortgage repayments agreed at the height of the boom at prices that bear no relation to reality. Similar solutions must be sought and found in the commercial rental sector, where it is estimated that thousands of jobs have been lost since the crash. We must examine the trend whereby some of our more famous brands, such as B&Q, HMV and Monsoon, are on a weekly basis going into either examinership or liquidation. We are told by them that they are citing as the principal reason enormous rents that bear no relation to reality. It is timely for the Minister to meet the Attorney General to review the law on upward-only rent reviews, both in the context of yesterday's Bewley's case and also the recent IBRC legislation, which saw the suspension of certain property rights in the overall common good.

It is timely to have the commercial database. I welcome the fact the Minister is in a position to report progress on that. It is long overdue and we need it. It is important that investors have certainty and that landlords and tenants be on a proper footing when negotiating.

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