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

It is not a vacuum, and I will tell the Deputy why. We have to have a thresholds so that if it is passed in the future, an area qualifies. If we have the means of actually testing, it has to be a rolling threshold that can be implemented in one, two or three years' time. If we decide that we will only look at the picture as it is today, we are ignoring potential pressures that may develop in the future. What we need is not a political decision to designate an area. We have to have an independent body assessing on the basis of data where we have the most pressurised rental areas, and we will intervene accordingly.

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