John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I was on the Oireachtas Committee on Housing and Homelessness with the proposer of the Bill. I know full well that the proposer is knowledgeable and well-read on this matter. I know that the Bill is not put forward lightly. I listened to the contribution of Deputy Ó Broin earlier, although I was not in the Chamber at the time. He used a term that came up during the committee's meetings. He referred to rent certainty. By the way, rent certainty and security of tenure were issues the committee looked at directly. There is a chapter in our report on the private rented sector. Deputy Ó Broin used a term we used at the committee during his contribution. He referred to rent certainty being tied to an index, such as the consumer price index.

The debate at the committee concerned whether the consumer price index is necessarily the appropriate index for this purpose. While that was the discussion in which the committee engaged - and the one to which Deputy Ó Broin referred tonight - that is not what is contained in his proposal. For those who were not involved with the committee, our report contains a chapter about this proposal. The committee's first recommendation was - sometimes one must refer back - to "Develop and publish a national strategy specifically for the [private rented sector] to address long-term rent certainty, increase affordable supply, improve the quality of accommodation and professionalise the industry." That was our first recommendation and I stand by it. I want to see the strategy published and I want its components to deliver the results we want to see.

I only have 30 seconds left so I will be very direct with the Minister. In his opening comments, he acknowledged the Fianna Fáil amendment but said he would abstain rather than support it. I ask him to think again. The reason he outlined for his abstention relates to his concern about some of the timelines in the amendment. When he first assumed his current role and was preparing his 100-day strategy, initially he was due to run a little over time. When he came under a little pressure, he delivered on it early.

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