Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill that is before the House. I note the comments of Deputies Ó Broin and Cian O'Callaghan in particular because many of the arguments they made about the housing crisis echo comments the Minister made when he was in opposition. Those comments reflect the grave error we in this country made of not building more public housing on public land. In the 120 days since the Minister took office, I know he would have preferred to be bringing forward legislation to deal with issues such as the affordable housing scheme, the cost rental model that is being introduced and other housing reforms. Unfortunately, we are in a world where Covid-19 is dominating everything. The provisions in this Bill will offer protections to people who face a notice to quit during this extended lockdown period. The first thing it does is provide that reassurance. The second thing it does is to put the provisions on an automatic basis in order that we do not have to consider them anew each time new restrictions are imposed. I hope we do not have to go into another level 5 period after we have come out of this one but, as the Taoiseach said, we do not know what is ahead of us. It is a very sensible measure to put the provisions on such a footing.

Of course, an emergency Bill to restrict certain activities in the housing sector will not solve the entire housing crisis. We might want to go further and solve all the various elements of our dysfunctional housing market in one Bill but we know that is not possible to do. I often observe that Deputies in opposition have the luxury of calling for things that the Attorney General has advised against, but one does not have that luxury in government. As we have seen today, when the Attorney General gives advice, it is very difficult for Government to act against it. A total ban on evictions and a total ban on rent increases have not been advised as being constitutional and the Government must act within that advice. However, this does not stop us from building the 10,000 public housing units we plan to build next year. It does not stop us from ensuring local authorities have more power to build homes. It does restrict our ability to bring in some of the measures for which the Opposition has called.

It is important to clarify an issue about which there is much misinformation. If a person is experiencing income difficulties as a result of Covid-19, he or she is protected until next year. It is really important to state that clearly for the benefit of people listening to the debate. I acknowledge the cross-party support that is being given to this Bill. It is important to acknowledge when Opposition parties and the Government are working together. I hope that when it comes to the other measures the Minister will bring forward later this year and in 2021, we can work together to solve the housing crisis the country faces.

See this speech in context