Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

It is more or less the same. If the court makes an exclusion order, the tenant must leave the property. Does the Minister have information on the number of exclusion orders in Dublin since the Act came into force in 1997? I get a sense from some of the authorities that they are not taking their responsibility seriously. The most important function I can fulfil as a member of a housing authority or a council official is to give some security to decent, law-abiding citizens and one of the powers contained in the Bill is the right to exclude people who are causing untold harm in a community. Perhaps in the course of his reply or on Committee Stage the Minster will outline the number of exclusion orders that have been issued. I am glad he has extended in this section the right to exclude people to whom we have given subsidised housing because we must come down heavily on those who are making life a nightmare for decent people. The courts must be given the power to make those exclusion orders.

This is a long Bill. I hope we will have time to go through it in detail on Committee Stage. I welcome it, given that it is being brought forward four years late but better late than never. I wish the new tenancies board well. We must move to professionalise and incentivise this sector and to see it as a long-term business interest while at the same time ensuring tenants are given their rights. More people will see housing in the private rented sector as a longer-term option if it is a market that is well regulated and well run.