Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful to have the opportunity to speak on this Bill. The proposed amendment to the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 seeks to extend the minimum notice period for a tenancy termination by a landlord, to make rent data available to tenants, and to increase the maximum value of fines applying. I am happy to support this amendment. In the current climate, tenants find it extremely difficult to source adequate accommodation within the outstanding minimum notice period. As a result of the shock and stress on a tenant getting a termination of tenancy notice, it can take several days before he or she can look for new accommodation. This amendment will help tenants get suitable accommodation within a longer period. That is necessary given the current shortage of housing. I hope also that this Bill will require tenants to show the same respect to their landlords and give them equal notice of their intention to terminate a tenancy contract. It is important that we try to protect both parties in these agreements.

I have spoken in this Chamber many times about our current housing crisis. This Bill will relieve pressure on people who fear homelessness. However, it will in no way go far enough to solve the crisis, and therefore I am pleading with the Minister to put in place some solid action. According to the 2016 census, 260,000 houses throughout the country are vacant. Common sense dictates that those houses could go a long way towards solving the immediate housing crisis. To achieve this, the building control and regulation process must be changed if we are to fast-track the utilisation of those vacant or derelict buildings.

In Dublin city alone it is estimated that there are 4,000 vacant spaces above commercial units. Those could be refurbished to provide much-needed residential dwellings. That pattern of vacant above shop units is replicated in every city, town and village.

During the discussion on housing in the talks on the formation of Government in 2016, I raised awareness of this issue and gave an example of my home town of Schull, in west Cork, where very few families live over commercial premises. That trend, which has been occurring for the past 20 years, has had a very negative impact on towns and villages. I propose that we should be encouraging families to take up residence over shops and commercial units by offering refurbishment grants.

I hope the Government will accept this amendment and take my further recommendations into account as a way to relieve the housing crisis.

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