Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Do not be fighting over the pub. The Minister, Deputy Ross, is trying to close them. I am happy to speak on this Bill and I commend the Deputies on bringing it forward. The Bill seeks to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 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. We are all only too aware of the precarious position in which many tenants find themselves. Add to that the uncertainty around the behaviour of some landlords and it is a strain that becomes almost unbearable.

I have said many times that not all landlords are bad and that the vast majority of them are fine. My concerns around a Bill of this type is that we strike the right balance between competing rights, which is very difficult to do. Wherever possible, the rights of the landlord and the rights of the tenant should not be adversarial. We must strive for that. Most of the time it is possible to negotiate a settlement and a reasonable period, but not always. In those circumstances, the tenant must have protection, especially where young families are involved. That is vital.

I am concerned about the proposal to increase the fines from €3,000 to €15,000. That is a huge jump. Being a landlord is not that lucrative a business. I would hope that the threshold for an offence would be suitably robust and that we do not have a situation emerge where landlords become terrified of seeking to remove tenants where there is a lawful and legitimate reason to do so. That aspect is very important because they must be able to have the right to remove bad tenants, and there are bad tenants and awful cases. It is not as clear-cut as we might believe.

This Bill is recognition that we find ourselves in a situation that can only be described as a national housing emergency, despite all the Minister's talk, promises and blunderbuss, which we had from Deputy Kenny as well. To the extent that it seeks to strike the right balance and protect tenants from unscrupulous behaviour, I can support the Bill. I heard Michael Walsh, the CEO of Waterford County Council, who is a very good man, being interviewed this morning. A question was put to him about the number of houses built in Waterford last year. He admitted that none had been built but they were hoping to build some this year. On countless occasions I have asked for the county managers and the housing managers to be brought here to sit down in the housing committee with us or with other people. The Minister seems to call them up for a meeting with the Department where they have a nice chat and go off for a fancy tea afterwards. Someone needs to be held accountable. Houses are not being delivered.

The Government closed all the bedsits here in Dublin. The shops are another case. Do not mind the pubs. Deputy Healy-Rae's pub is still open so we are not talking about putting anyone in there, but there are vacant premises in every street in every village and town in the country and they must be allowed to be changed into living accommodation. The Minister should do two things: bring back the life into those villages and towns and deal with the housing crisis. It is not rocket science so he needs to get his act together and get his officials in his Department to take the cobwebs out of their eyes and allow people to get accommodation.

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