Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I totally get that, and that is why I put together reasonable legislation that was regularly mentioned by the Minister's predecessor. Because of the housing crisis and the disastrous response by the Government, people do not realistically have much other choice than to go into digs. Digs are fantastic and it can benefit both the person living in them and the homeowner.

My Bill is very reasonable and doable and its language mirrors that of the existing Residential Tenancies Act. I ensured there was input from expert groups and from legal practitioners and that it would bring regulatory oversight to an area that does not have it. It would very much formalise a very informal relationship.

What is very interesting is that survey data shows that it is not just students who want this but homeowners themselves. If we take the example of an elderly woman living by herself and somebody keeps telling her they will be good for the rent next week or the week after but never pays, at least that person would have access to the RTB and could have it dealt with. These kinds of protections are needed now that we are so reliant on digs.

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