Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have been contacted recently by a number of constituents who have reported that some insurance companies are asking landlords to provide details on the status of their tenants. Questions they ask include whether they in receipt of the housing assistance payment, whether they are employed, whether they are refugees and whether they are professionals.

The response to these questions by the landlords could impact on the insurance premiums. This practice strikes me as extremely discriminatory and has the potential to further distort our housing market and to make it more difficult for many individuals and families to secure much-needed rented accommodation. Is the Tánaiste aware of this practice, which seems to have spread from the UK? Will he ask the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, to contact the Central Bank of Ireland to investigate it and revert to me?

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