Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday at a conference in Dublin, a number of speakers from the United States stated that the number of foreclosures on mortgages in Ireland was too low. They noted that one of the reasons America has managed to emerge from the mortgage crisis is the high number of mortgage foreclosures in the US. I had not heard this view expressed previously and it dawned on me that there is a vested interest involved in this issue because the banks and landlords have a different viewpoint from tenants and home owners. This may explain the change in the Government's opinion on upward only rent reviews. To the best of my knowledge, the Labour Party and the Fine Gael Party both entered government, having given a commitment that the abolition of upward only rent clauses would be part of the programme for Government. The reason they gave when they changed their minds on the issue was that abolishing upward only rent reviews would not be compatible with the Constitution and, as such, would require a referendum. Now that the State owns the banks, is there a danger that we are acting in the best interests of the banks, rather than those who must pay rents that are covered by upward only rent clauses?

It would be worthy to have a debate on that issue in this House. It appears there are two viewpoints on this issue, one of which was expressed before the election by the two parties in government, in respect of which they have since changed their minds. We are told they have changed their minds because it has been determined it is not possible under the Constitution to do so. I do not know whether that is true. If so, we must find a way to overcome that, perhaps by way of an amendment to the Constitution. Upward-only rent reviews are causing huge problems for traders throughout the country.