Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will speak to amendment No. 22. There is talk about tenancies of indefinite duration, which we all welcome, but this Bill does not deliver that. We have to be honest with people. There are renters out there tonight who are looking to the Minister for hope, security and protection, and this Bill does not deliver that.

Our amendment will help to protect renters. The excuses of use by a family member or that the property is being sold are used the majority of the time. As Deputy Ó Broin said, more than 75% of the time, those two excuses are given. Where is the security and where is the protection? Every day for the past month, we have seen an increase in the number of people getting notices to quit, and the notice to quit is an eviction. Let us call a spade a spade: where a person gets a notice to quit, they have to be evicted.

I got a text yesterday at 3:52 p.m. from a tenant who said that his landlord was outside, banging on the door. I will show the Minister the text afterwards. He shouted at the tenant that he did not care what HAP, Threshold or the RTB say, but if the tenant did not get out, he was going to blow the door in with a sledgehammer and drag the tenant out by the head. That is what I have here. The tenant was trying to phone Cork City Council homeless services yesterday because he is living in fear. This is not the first time this tenant has been threatened. Last week, I was in the hospital and he contacted me. By the time I drove from the hospital to the tenant, he had spent three hours in his car because he was afraid to go into his apartment, for which he is paid up to date. This is the fear. I had to go into his room with him. Before I drove over to him, I advised him to phone the Garda but they said they do not react to verbal threats. However, if the threat comes to the door and if the landlord threatens him physically, they will come. That is the fear tenants are living in. He was given notice to quit for 21 December and it was then brought forward to 12 December.

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