Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 9:

In page 8, to delete lines 3 to 6 and substitute the following: “(i) the nature and potential impact of Covid-19 on individuals, society and the State,

(ii) the capacity of the State to respond to the risk to public health posed by the spread of Covid-19,

(iii) the policies and objectives of the Government to protect the health and welfare of members of the public,

(iv) the need to mitigate the economic effects of the spread of Covid-19, and

(v) the need to ensure the provision of adequate housing, in the interest of the common good, for public health purposes,”.

The current wording in this section is focused and functional. However, will the Minister broaden the scope and the definition of what is recognised as an emergency period? It can be seen from the previous amendments on which we have voted that it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to know when this crisis will end, how it will unfold and whether it will be for three, six or 12 months.

We are trying in this amendment to provide some discretion in the legislation, particularly in the area of housing because there is for example a significant difference between freezing a planning application for three months and freezing somebody's rent for three months. We would like the Minister to consider that our current housing crisis has a very real public health implication, as we have seen in recent weeks.

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