Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will be opposing this Bill. At the outset however, I thank Deputy Ellis for providing this opportunity for Members to discuss again what they all will agree is an extremely important topic, as well as the major reforms the Government is implementing in the private rental sector in Ireland to provide rent certainty for both tenants and landlords and the wide range of actions I and my colleagues in government are implementing in respect of homelessness. This is a top priority and dealing with housing and homelessness is my number one priority. While they are complex and broad issues, it is the number one issue that takes up most of my time each day. Much has been achieved in this regard in a short space of time and I will set out some of the aforementioned measures taken by the Government to tackle this real problem.

Before doing so, however, the Bill before Members this evening clearly is fundamentally flawed in many aspects, including the way in which it is constructed and the way in which it is written. In many ways, its desired outcomes also are suspect. Taken in its entirety, it is so badly thought through that I would go so far as to state it basically is just another attempt to be opportunistic and to attack the Government, rather than actually to find some real, workable solutions that would have an impact in a real way on a day-to-day basis. I also believe it would give rise to unintended consequences and consequently once again when a problem arises, Sinn Féin are strong on rhetoric, as always, but weak on workable solutions.

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