Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

When we get criticism from both sides, it indicates that we have got the balance reasonably right. Deputy O'Dowd asked about tax and vacant homes. We have not decided to do that in this strategy, but who knows what we will do in the future? I expect that would be a decision for budget time and there would have to be a great deal of consultation before we did it.

Deputy Burton referred to lengthening tenure. We are lengthening tenure in the rental strategy from four years to six. This will be in the legislation. In time, we need to move to a non-fixed period so that we can get more permanency in terms of tenancy. My judgment was that it was not the right decision to jump from where matters stand now, namely, four-year tenancies, into indefinite tenancies. That would have resulted in many landlords pulling properties from the market, which would not be good at a time when supply is the fundamental cause of most of the problems.

Questions were asked about how an area will become a rent pressure zone. The criteria are very clear and I am glad to have the opportunity to clarify the position. It is important to understand what is involved.

The reason Cork and Dublin currently are the only parts of the country that qualify under the criteria is because we are applying a threshold criteria on the basis of local authority areas as a whole, and there are only five local authority areas as a whole that qualify in the context of the criteria, which are that for four of the past six months there has to have been an annual rental inflation figure of more than 7%. The rent in the area concerned is above the average.

What we are asking the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, to do now is to look at more localised areas because we know that when we do that, other areas will come in. If we take Meath as a county, for example, because of rural areas in County Meath, the averages are being brought down. When we look at towns like Navan, Dunshaughlin or Naas, I am sure we will have a very different picture in terms of designating parts of a county like Meath or Kildare. When we look at local electoral areas within local authorities, and we will have the data from those areas in January and February, those areas are likely to come in. I am sure my home town of Carrigaline, which is in the local electoral area of Carrigaline and Ballincollig, is also likely to come in as a rent pressure zone.

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