Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I would say that is unintended because the amendment that the Minister published this morning and put forward would mean that the increase would be 2%. How come the Cabinet has changed its mind and decided that now, in the aforementioned circumstances, it wants to allow landlords to double the rent increases? That is what the t/12 aspect in the equation set out in the Minister's amendment is about. It is the protection we were talking about. It ensures that landlords do not try to encourage people to move out or even to push them out. That protection is there. There will be a natural flow of people leaving homes and apartments in terms of short stays and therefore the Minister does not have a 4% cap in this legislation. That is a serious flaw in the legislation and this is what we get when we rush legislation. The Cabinet has changed its mind and between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. in that it has decided that in these circumstances, the Government will allow landlords to double the amount by which they can increase rent.

See this speech in context