Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I move amendment No. 12:

In page 6, between lines 40 and 41, to insert the following:

"(2) An interest in a unit shall not be transferred subject to any conditions or covenant unless in the formulation of such condition or covenant, due regard has been had to environmental considerations.".

The Minister may recall that this section was the subject of the most light-hearted discussion on the last occasion, with quite a lively debate, although the point is a serious one, that is, the right to dry laundry. Many apartment owners are concerned about clauses in their leases which prohibit them from air-drying laundry. Amendment No. 42 was moved on Committee Stage and the Minister had a good deal of sympathy with people who are faced with this real and practical issue when living in flats and apartments. They do not want to see house rules prohibiting the air-drying of laundry. Equally, there are those who feel it is unsightly to have laundry drying outside. As I said on Committee Stage, in countries in which a much higher proportion of people, particularly families, live in apartments, provisions are made in the building and construction of apartment complexes to ensure there are aesthetically pleasing ways of air-drying laundry so people do not have to resort to the most environmentally unfriendly method of the tumble dryer. For environmental reasons as well as practicality, we should be encouraging apartment complexes to be constructed, where possible, in such a way that people can air-dry their laundry.

We suggest in amendment No. 42 that house rules should not prohibit air-drying of laundry, but the Minister felt that was too specific although, as I said, he had some sympathy with the principle behind it, so we have tabled a separate amendment, No. 12, in answer to the points raised by the Minister. It is not exactly an alternative to No. 42 but it would certainly go some way towards meeting the concerns raised in the tabling of amendment No. 42, although in a more general sense. We have suggested in amendment No. 12 that "An interest in a unit shall not be transferred subject to any conditions or covenant unless in the formulation of such condition or covenant, due regard has been had to environmental considerations". This is a general formulation which is designed to encourage the deletion of any clauses that prohibit air-drying of laundry in conditions or covenants.

I am interested to hear what the Minister has to say, particularly about amendment No. 12. We have already debated amendment No. 42 in some detail and his concern was that it was too specific. However, having regard to environmental considerations, such clauses really should be discouraged. That is what we are trying to do in amendment No. 12.