Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to make it an offence for a landlord to seek sex in lieu of rent or to advertise to seek sex in lieu of rent and for that purpose to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and to provide for related matters.

It was in December 2021 that Ann Murphy, a young reporter with the Irish Examiner, broke the scandal that has become known as "sex for rent". More properly, it is described as predatory landlords preying on vulnerable and often young women desperate to find rental accommodation, and attempting to pressurise them into exchanging sex for putting a roof over their heads. Excellent reporting by Ann Murphy showed there was an entire underbelly of our rental sector where, on social media and other platforms, a small but not insignificant number of landlords were engaged in this activity, advertising such arrangements or indeed even engaging with tenants or prospective tenants. In March of the following year, Deputy Cian O'Callaghan from the Social Democrats introduced a very good piece of legislation which sought to make the seeking of sex in exchange for rent a criminal offence. That Bill was debated here on the floor of the Dáil, passed Second Stage and was referred to Committee Stage. For reasons better known to members of the committee, it was referred back to the Oireachtas with a commitment from the Minister for Justice to look at the issue in the overall context of the review of gender-based violence. However, in October of 2023, "RTÉ Investigates" again produced a very good piece of journalism highlighting what can only be described as absolutely appalling behaviour. Undercover journalists included hidden camera interviews with landlords again seeking these kinds of arrangements. Throughout 2023, Ann Murphy continued to return to the story in the Irish Examiner.

Growing frustration on this side of the House led me to publish this legislation last August. I know the Bills Office is incredibly busy with other legislation and it has only been possible to introduce it on First Stage now. Essentially what I am trying to do is use the Residential Tenancies Act to create two offences. It would be an offence under the relevant section of the Residential Tenancies Act for any landlord to seek an arrangement whereby sex would be exchanged for rental accommodation. In contrast to Deputy O'Callaghan's Bill, which I support, this would be a preventative measure rather than a prosecution after the fact. I also believe there is sufficient evidence from the work of Ann Murphy and others that it should also be an offence for a landlord to advertise any such arrangements. There is a language that we know is used in these adverts, talking about special arrangements with the landlord and so on. As a preventative measure, I think prospective tenants who come across these adverts should be able to take the cases to the Residential Tenancies Board and have them dealt with in the non-judicial manner that it provides.

I am sure this is a practice that everybody on all sides of the House feels is absolutely abhorrent. I would like to think it is a very small part of our rental sector. The truth is we do not know, but the evidence suggests that it is. Not a single person should have to deal with this. We know from the information in the public domain to date that it is very often younger women, young students and workers, often working in towns and cities away from their family and support networks, migrant women and others who are vulnerable and desperate to get accommodation. I am introducing the Bill on First Stage today and will seek to have Second Stage at the earliest opportunity. It will give the House a clear chance, as we did in 2022 with Deputy O'Callaghan's Bill, to say that the practice is not acceptable and that the Dáil believes it is time to legislate. While I respect that the Minister, Deputy McEntee is doing a significant body of work with the comprehensive review of the State's response to gender-based violence, in the meantime it is absolutely appropriate to utilise amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act to outlaw the practice and the advertising of such practice. We used the Residential Tenancies Act, for example, to prohibit landlords from charging more than a month's rent in advance in a rental arrangement. If we can use it for that, surely we can use it to proscribe and prohibit the seeking of or the advertising of what is essentially coerced sex in exchange for desperate people to put a roof over their heads. I commend the Bill to the House.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Is the Bill opposed?

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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No.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Since this is a Private Members' Bill, Second Stage must, under Standing Orders, be taken in Private Members' time.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."