Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will certainly engage directly with my colleague, Deputy O'Dowd, on that issue if anything can be done to assist in that regard by way of clarification, particularly around the process. Basic minimum standards must be adhered to and there should never be a situation where people are knowingly left living in substandard accommodation. I have taken note of the points he raised and I will engage directly with the Deputy on that.

In the interests of time, I will address the amendments in block, if that is okay. I note that Members have also addressed their amendments in block. Amendments Nos. 1 to 15, inclusive, and amendments Nos. 19 to 21, inclusive, all pretty much relate to the extension of the emergency period past 12 July. There is a variance in that some Deputies are seeking October, some want December and other are seeking April next year. I note that Deputy Ó Broin said he will take whatever. The approach to some legislation seems to be just to take whatever is available and it does not really matter. Actually, it does matter. We have a duty as a Government to ensure that anything we pass here is proportionate, legal, constitutional and is not open to challenge.

At previous debates on tenancy legislation, the Sinn Féin spokesperson also said that we should test it in the courts and therefore to set aside the advice of the Attorney General and do it anyway. That is an incredible attitude to have with regard to passing legislation and laws that govern our State. We have an Opposition spokesperson saying we should just test it in the court and set aside any Attorney General advice, and that it does not really matter because that person knows better and that is fine. That is not the way any legislation should be approached.

It gives a view into the psyche of some Members opposite in that they will say or do anything if it is seen to advance their own position. That is not the way we should be approaching the serious matter of protecting the most vulnerable tenants.

To turn specifically to the amendments tabled, I cannot accept amendments Nos. 1 to 15, inclusive, or 19 to 21, inclusive, which seek to increase the proposed extension in this Bill of the emergency period under the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 from three months by varying lengths to provide an extension of either six months, eight and a half months or 12 months, ending on 12 October, 31 December or 12 April. The amendments also propose consequential amendments to other dates within the Act which correspond with the various expiry dates proposed for the emergency period under the Act.

Section 9(1) of the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 defines an emergency period as being from 11 January 2021 to 12 April 2021, during which the enhanced tenancy protections under the Act apply for tenants in arrears, subject to conditions and to procedural requirements. Section 1(a) of the Residential Tenancies Bill 2021 proposes to extend the expiry date of the emergency period from 12 April 2021 to 12 July 2021.

In line with the advice of the Office of the Attorney General, which I respect and regard as the main law agent of the State but others do not, which is up to them to explain why, the Government seeks to limit as much as possible any interference with the constitutionality of protected property rights. The 86% of landlords in question are very normal people, most of whom own one property, some two. It has not been outlawed, as far as I am aware yet, for someone to be a landlord. While it is still legal for them to be landlords, they deserve an element of protection also. This is about proportionality. Again, others will set that aside and try to make a play on it. One cannot just disregard people's rights at a whim or at the drop of a hat or if it is deemed it will get somebody airplay somewhere outside of this Chamber or a nice article in a newspaper.

Covid-19 has indeed brought much uncertainty. The Government's proposed three-month extension of the application of the enhanced tenancy protections under the Act aims to complement our wider efforts to suppress the spread of Covid-19 throughout the country. When we debated the origins of this Act last August, even when we debated the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 in early December, none of us could have foreseen the fatal trajectory of Covid-19 on our island and across the globe. As legislators, we need to work together to react quickly to suppress the spread of Covid-19 in everything we do, not just in government but in opposition as well. There is a responsibility on all Members to play their part in that regard.

We might need to review the situation again for tenants closer to July. I am open to doing that, should we need to, as I have done already on three previous occasions. I will bring forward any necessary or targeted protections for our most vulnerable tenants at that time. I remind Members that protections under the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 will help any tenant in financial difficulty while he or she is seeking income support from the State to help to pay the rent. Tenants need to act and engage. They are doing so, thankfully. Organisations such as Threshold, with which I engage regularly, have been most helpful in ensuring this happens. Tenants need to act to avoid a build-up of rent arrears. There is no question of that. We have State supports with emergency rent supplement and other payments. I encourage tenants to engage in that regard should they find themselves in difficulties paying their rent.

Section 1(a) to (d), inclusive, update various dates from April 2021 to July 2021 to reflect the extended emergency. The proposed amendments in this Bill to the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 provide for enhanced protections for tenants, subject to conditions - no one is suggesting there should not be any conditionality - and procedural requirements under the Act, to continue to apply from 13 April 2021 to 12 July 2021, if they have been economically impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and, consequently, are unable to meet their obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act to pay rent due and are at risk of tenancy termination. These are the people we should be assisting. That is what this Bill will do should it be passed.

Those who oppose this Bill will be voting against extending those provisions to July this year. Some voted against the original provisions last August and voted against them again in December of last year. During this time and up to 12 July 2021, those tenants who need these additional protections, on top of existing tenancy protections already in place, will be safeguarded from eviction and indeed from rent increases.

Section 1(b) extends the eligibility expiry date from 12 April 2021 to 12 July 2021 for tenants to qualify as a relevant person within the meaning of section 10(6) of the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020. If this Bill is passed, a relevant person means a tenant unable to comply with his or her obligations to pay the rent due in respect of tenancy because he or she is or was at any stage between 1 August 2020 to July 2021 in receipt of, or entitled to receive, illness benefit because of a Covid-19 absence or in receipt of, or entitled to receive, the temporary wage subsidy. Tens of thousands are in receipt of the latter. It is another Government support in place to keep people working and connected with their jobs. It also applies to any other social welfare payment or State support paid as a result of loss of earnings due to Covid-19. This includes the rent supplement or the supplementary welfare allowance. It is abundantly clear as to what those protections are and who a qualifying person would be.

If someone thinks there should be an addition to that, they should come forward. I think we have covered as well as possible those who really need the protections. Others will just disagree but we are used to that.

Section 1(c) extends the eligibility expiry from 12 April 2021 to 12 July 2021 for landlords to qualify as a relevant person within the meaning of section 11(6) of the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020. Pursuant to this, a relevant person means a landlord who is, or was, at any stage between 1 August 2020 to 12 July 2021 in receipt of, or is entitled to receive, illness benefit for a Covid-19 absence. Those small mom and pop landlords also have rights. Those rights need to be respected also. There needs to be a proportionality between their rights and the future protections we bring in place. A relevant person also means a landlord who is in receipt of, or entitled to receive, the temporary wage supplement or any other social welfare payment or State support paid as a result of loss of earnings due to Covid-19. These can be our accidental landlords who, unfortunately, many of us know too. They deserve protection and to have their rights upheld. Some may believe they do not. That is fine. They can stand over that decision themselves.

Section 1(d)(i) substitutes section 12(1)(a) of the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 to provide that the earliest termination date that can be specified for a tenant protected under the Act is 13 July 2021. That is extended from 13 April 2021. It can make a technical reference to a new subsection (1A) to be inserted into section 12 of the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 by section 1 of this Bill. Section 1(d)(ii) inserts a new subsection (1A) into section 12 of the Act.

The new subsection applies, as per paragraph (c), to a notice of termination grounded on rent arrears.

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