Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We are trying to learn from systems already in place in neighbouring jurisdictions. Several good schemes have been put in place in Britain and Northern Ireland has recently introduced a scheme. We still have quite a bit of work to do on the measure but I intend to have it ready to bring before the Seanad.

Senator Reilly raised the issue of rent receivers. My Department has entered discussions with the banking sector to clarify the responsibilities of rent receivers vis-à-vis landlords and we intend to produce clear guidelines for lenders and tenants in conjunction with the Irish Banking Federation. I acknowledge the problems that arise with shared ownership. It arises in some counties more than others. Senator Keane referred to the practice of letting out properties and issues also arise in regard to substantial repayments on moneys borrowed by local authorities in earlier times. The payback is now falling on those who are in shared ownership schemes.

The issue of caps on rent supplement is not the direct responsibility of my Department but reference was also made to the rent allowance scheme. The Department of Social Protection is monitoring market values.

Senator Kelly raised the issue of ghost estates. We are working hard to address this issue. A sub-committee has been established in my Department to deal with ghost estates and we are gradually reducing the number of estates that are in bad condition, in conjunction with the various stakeholders. It is true to say that a small number of estates will never be brought back to any kind of use but where we can we are working very hard with NAMA and local authorities to remediate them.

Senator Moloney raised an important point in the context of deposit protection. The State is paying for many of these deposits through community welfare officers and the money is not returned in many cases. This is one of the reasons we should establish a deposit protection scheme. Deposits involve State money as well as individuals' hard earned savings and they can contribute to homelessness if they are not returned when tenants attempt to move elsewhere. I will take on board the Senator's suggestion regarding a bond rather than cash for State deposits. We have not gotten far enough in drafting the proposal to determine exactly how we will achieve that. We are also examining the issue of left-over units on the affordable housing schemes. It does not make sense to leave empty houses that were intended for sale under a scheme which may no longer be affordable. We want to find ways of bringing those houses back into use.

I think I have addressed all the issues raised. I apologise if I left anything out and I will revert to Senators if I have not responded to them. I thank Senators for their wide knowledge and interest in this area. Considerable progress has been made already but more can be done. We intend to make progress with the legislation that is currently proceeding through the Houses of the Oireachtas. We also intend to work on enforcement because there is little point in introducing rules if they cannot be enforced. We are conscious of need to achieve a balance between the rights of tenants and landlords and we will address both sets of rights in the legislation in so far as we can.