Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I completely agree that the deposit should only be one month and no more than one month, and I do not disagree with that as a principle. My point is that while this had a certain priority a couple of years ago, it is not the priority it once was. This legislation does a huge amount. Areas that I think are a greater priority include student accommodation, as mentioned by Deputy O'Brien, but also the extension of rent pressure zones, RPZs, the closing of some perceived loopholes in RPZs, and everything else that flows from this Bill. While this legislation does a huge amount, trying to do what Deputy O'Sullivan wants to do cannot be captured in this simple amendment alone, unfortunately. It is too easy to step around it. That does not mean we are not going do something on this. There is a second piece of legislation coming later this year where we can have a more thorough approach to the issue at hand.

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