Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is adding to the problem. He knows that this is going to happen and is planning for it to happen. Why does he not do something about it?

I have tabled amendment No. 11 to amendment No. 21. The way the Bill is being produced is unusual. I have never seen it done in this way in all my time in the House and I have seen Bills produced in many ways but one learns something new every day. My amendment is reasonable. Deputy Brian Stanley and others have raised legitimate concerns about the fact that we are not quite sure of the outworkings of the landlord and tenant provisions and the effect they might have on a tenancy. We all know that the law of unintended consequences is a major concern for everybody putting legislation through the House. The Minister should look into his own heart and say he recognises that unintended consequences are a major challenge when trying to steer legislation through.

We have suggested the Minister include a statutory provision that this section and its impact on tenancy terminations will be subject to review by the Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, after it has come into operation and the report should be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas within not less than 12 months and not more than 14 months. The idea is that we will not sail off into the sunset, having passed the legislation, and hear that it is having an effect without having obliged the State agency responsible for landlord and tenant law to make a formal report and an independent assessment on behalf of the State. If there is an impact, the Minister could bring forward amending legislation to deal with the issue. Otherwise it would fester on, be put on the long finger and people might suffer unintended consequences. It would be a safety valve.

If we were debating this Bill in the proper manner on Committee Stage, at the very least the Minister would say he would consider the amendment and respond on Report Stage. His colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, is quite good at dealing with legislation. I have arguments with him about other matters, but I grant that when it comes to legislation, he follows very good processes and takes on board amendments tabled by the Opposition, reads them and, in many cases, has come back and given a rational explanation for not accepting them or come back with alternative wording from the Parliamentary Counsel that gives effect to the genesis of the Opposition amendment. Since the Minister does not have that option to come back, I ask him to accept amendment No. 11 to amendment No. 21 as being a reasonable provision that would provide a safety net to deal with unintended consequences in the case of landlords and tenants. I hope he will give me some comfort about what he will do for a very vulnerable group who will get caught up because the legislation he is bringing forwards exacerbates the risks of fines, penalties and charges, as well as the lack of a grant when they are caught in the net.

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