Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I wholeheartedly welcome the indefinite tenure measures in this Bill. I have submitted three amendments in total to the Bill. Amendment No. 24 deals with removing the sale as a reason to end a lease, which is similar to the protection of leases on commercial properties in other jurisdictions. My other two amendments are critical to solving the issue of homelessness as a result of evictions. The first seeks an extension to termination notice periods to tenants in tenancies of less than six months from 28 days to 90 days. The second amendment is the most important. It is a simple but critical measure to ensure that both local authorities and the RTB are informed of termination notices to tenants once they are served. This will ensure local authorities have given enough time to assist families at risk of homelessness to avoid entering emergency accommodation.

I congratulate the Simon Community on the launch of its Bill, which I support, and I trust the Minister will work with the Simon Community to ensure its main provisions are met. I believe my amendments to this Bill support those provisions and go a step further to ensure early interventions are facilitated by informing and involving local authorities as soon as termination notices are served to tenants and not waiting until the tenant is at risk of homelessness before giving an extension.

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