Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First of all, I want to acknowledge the really excellent work that Threshold does. It receives significant Government funding and, as a consequence of that, is able to do a lot of its work. As it often points out, very many notices to quit, far from being eviction notices as the Deputy claims, are invalid. It is really important that people seek advice from bodies like Threshold if they receive a notice to quit and do not have anywhere else to go.

We have passed lots of legislation in this House in the past ten years to improve the rights of renters, including tenancies of indefinite duration, the rent tax credit, rent pressure zones, under which most rents have seen increases of between 2% and 4% per year for the past seven years, and longer notice-to-quit periods. We continue to have this situation under review. A rent review is being done at the moment. That may result in further legislation and protections for renters. However, we always need to bear in mind supply because we need to make sure there are more properties available.

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