Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have two quick questions. The first relates to the definition of a principal private residence. The question probably applies to the entire Bill. Will the Minister clarify one point? When we use the term principal private residence most of us believe it refers to the home a person is living in. However, there is a group of people who, due to the mortgage crisis, are in a somewhat unusual position. They have a principal private residence but, since their family has grown, they have moved to another place. They are renting the residence because they might be in negative equity or whatever.

Essentially, they are renting out their principal private residence and are living in rented accommodation. In the context of the Minister's amendment and the Bill, does "principal private residence" afford the same protections in section 2 to a place if people are renting and renting as if they were simply living in it? Second, the Minister should set out the specific reason he is referring these matters to the Circuit Court, as opposed to the District or High Courts, in the amendment and the advantages thereof.

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