Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State's justification for not accepting any of the amendments seems to be tilted in favour of the big landlords. That is the only possible explanation for what he has said. He said the idea of deleting or, in the case of my amendment, reviewing the four-year clause would bring uncertainty for investors. I do not accept that is the case. If it does, so be it because security of tenure is more important in that regard.

The Minister of State also said the amendments seeking rent increases to be curtailed to either the rate of inflation or 5% would again be a problem, not for the tenant but for the investor and that the existing mechanism is generally better. The reason the Government is rushing through this legislation is that the existing mechanism is not better and is substantially flawed.

I am disappointed that the Minister of State did not deal with the points I made about getting to grips with a different approach to housing in the State. We should look at the price per square metre of every registered rental property and so on rather than bedroom size and we should accumulate data on the quality of units. To move forward and come up with the best ideas we have to get a full picture of where we stand now.

I accept there is more than one type of landlord in the State. I know that many people have been left as reluctant landlords simply because they have been left with a property in negative equity that they cannot sell. We know people who may have bought a property to rent it as their pension, for example. They are subbing the rent payment every time.

In the main, landlords are good, but there are some absolutely ruthless landlords who have exploited the current situation to fleece people who, in some instances, have been loyal tenants of theirs for up to a decade. They might have purchased the house years ago and do not need that increase. They are only doing so to profit. The only logic one can draw from this is that those who are calling the shots are the REITs and the big investment trust funds which now form a cartel in this city and country.

The reason the Minister is afraid to introduce anything more clear is not the ordinary Irish landlord who had a property or two and was pottering around during the years but the big boys who are coming in from abroad and dominating the market. I am sorry, but the interests of Irish tenants and decent Irish landlords are more important than that. A fixed price is not going to damage any decent landlord.

As I can speak again to the amendments, I will leave it at that for the moment.

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