John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I thank the Senators for this amendment. We had some discussion about uninhabitable dwellings on Committee Stage yesterday. In section 1 of the Bill "dwelling" is defined as including a building "used, or suitable for use, by an individual as a separate dwelling". Additionally in section 2 residential property is defined as "a building situated in the State used, or suitable for use, as a dwelling". The words "suitable for use" in these definitions are critical. If a building is not suitable for use as a dwelling it follows that it must be uninhabitable, to use the word in the amendment. I will reinforce this point in guidance I propose to issue to local authorities on carrying out this legislation. It has always been my intention to issue these guidelines, even in respect of the matters we discussed previously. It is clear the Bill as drafted provides that an owner of a residential property is not liable for a charge where the property in question is not suitable for use as a dwelling. Similar terminology is used in several statutes, including stamp duty legislation. In these circumstances I regret I cannot accede to the amendment.