Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am aware of reports of the nature referred to by the Deputy. I assure him that the matter is being taken very seriously and is under consideration by the Government. I cannot imagine the level of distress that somebody must feel, particularly a tenant, where people are in a vulnerable position or living on their own and find themselves not being able to pay their rent. On top of that, they find themselves being propositioned or put into a very difficult situation where they feel they may not have any option or very few options but to leave and become homeless or for that to have further consequences as well. It is very upsetting to even think about it. The fact is that this is happening, where people are already tenants, where there are advertisements where people are not saying it explicitly but are referencing exactly what they are willing to do for a reduced rate. Any type of behaviour like this by landlords seeking to use their position to prey on vulnerable people is completely unacceptable. It cannot be tolerated. It is an appalling abuse of power by people with really unscrupulous morals.

The Deputy may be aware that my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, and I are receiving advice from the Attorney General on this subject at present. Both of our Departments are considering how we can take on board that advice and how we can go from here to try to address this issue. We will look at all of the potential elements involved here such as the policy aspect of discrimination relating to such advertisements. We will engage with relevant Departments to consider all possible avenues to address this unacceptable behaviour.

The Government is totally committed to preventing and addressing sexual abuse and gender-based violence in all its forms and it is important for me to say that the laws surrounding sexual offences have been significantly strengthened in recent years, including with the introduction of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017. The legislation now makes it abundantly clear that consent must be freely and voluntarily given. In other words, submission when a person feels forced or has no other choice is not the same as consent. We have to be clear on that. While the right approach to dealing with this issue needs to be carefully considered, I can assure the Deputy that my colleagues and I are looking at this and plan to take action on it. It is complex but we want to try to find a way forward.

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