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

It is not strange at all. We need to have a faster dispute resolution process for tenants and landlords. Some people in this House only want to make the case for one side of the rental debate. Of course, we need to introduce changes to protect tenants from spiralling rents and to address the matter of security of tenure to ensure that landlords are not abusing tenants, but we also need to have a policy that is balanced towards landlords. Otherwise, we will not have any landlords. My job is to introduce a balance here that can allow the rental sector to function. I must ensure that the State increases its input into the rental sector by increasing the amount of social housing that we have, while also ensuring that we have a private rental market that is functioning properly. If there are disputes, if someone breaks the law or if someone is being treated unfairly in the private rental sector, I want the Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, to be able to deal with that quickly. That is all we have legislated for and that makes sense for both tenants and landlords.

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