Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am not being personal. It should be possible to have one Minister present in the Chamber for the duration of a debate.

I am pleased the Minister of State is present because he will, no doubt, relate very well to the issue under discussion. In the interests of those who prepared the legislation and those who seek to improve or comment on it, they deserve, at a minimum, to have only one Minister present for a debate.

I commend Senator Quinn on introducing the legislation. In 2012, my party introduced the Landlord and Tenant (Business Leases Rent Review) Bill in the other House. Despite certain commitments being given at that stage, no action has been taken in the meantime and it is clear the Government will not accept the legislation. Senator Quinn's Bill is imaginative and deserves a hearing. I appeal to the Government to allow it to pass Second Stage. It is clear from the Senators opposite that the Government side in this House wants this issue addressed. The practice heretofore is that advice received from the Attorney General is not cited or shared in the House by Ministers. This is regrettable. If necessary and in the interests of citizens and small businesses, we should test the constitutionality of the legislation in the courts.

The programme for Government clearly states the Government "will legislate to end upward only rent reviews for existing leases." The manifestos of the two Government parties gave all sorts of commitments. The Tánaiste, as leader of the Labour Party, told us it was the Labour Party's way or Frankfurt's way and described the law on the Statute Book as crazy. Back in the land of the little people, to use the expression of Senator Hayden, there are 50 empty retail units in my home town. In 2004, all of these units were commanding high rents but many families and retailers have since gone out of business. Even large UK multiples, notably in the area of ladies clothing, have closed down because they were unable to pay the rents. In the north west, the boom manifested itself through an increase in activity in the service industry, specifically the retail sector where a large number of people were employed. This sector has been bitten hardest in the recession. On O'Connell Street, the main street of Sligo, a Boots chemist store was paying €250,000 per annum for a lease at one stage and the rent for another small unit on the same street was €100,000. Many of these units are now empty.

I accept the Attorney General and her predecessor have concerns about proposals to ban upward only rent reviews. Senators asked why my party in government did not go the whole hog when it introduced legislation on the issue. I agree that we should have done so at the time. As Senator Darragh O'Brien noted, many of us disagreed with the view of the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern, that we could not go the whole hog. In Senator Quinn's Bill we have a vehicle by which we can achieve the objective for which we all yearn.

Senator Zappone pointed out that the National Asset Management Agency is the largest property owner in Ireland and perhaps the world. What is NAMA doing on the issues of empty premises, enforcing rents and so forth? What is it doing in cases where holders of leases are in arrears?

Is there any engagement? Is anyone saying that they want to keep these people in situ? Has anyone sought to bring down the rents? I suggest not. I know of and have anecdotal evidence relating to local authorities throughout the country - the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine comes to mind in particular. It may own many commercial buildings in ports like Killibegs and Sligo and smaller ports throughout the country. Has the Department reduced rents for anyone? The answer is "No". I know first-hand of companies that have gone into receivership, gone bust or ceased trading because of the fact that they cannot afford those rents. I venture to suggest that the State is being pennywise and pound foolish. It should engage with these people, keep them in business and reduce the rents rather than argue that a given business has a lease and it must pay it or get out. I do not believe we are being particularly smart about that.

I thank Senator Quinn and my Fianna Fáil colleagues in the other House who produced a similar Bill some time ago. I call on the Minister of State not to give us the set piece this time, as has occurred so often in the last Administration and this Administration. The line is that they say they are sorry because it is a good initiative for which we all yearn but it is simply unconstitutional. Government Senators have said it. Well, let us test it in the courts. This is something that Irish society genuinely needs and yearns for. It could benefit employment and small business and that will no doubt contribute in a major way to the national effort.

I thank the Minister of State for listening. I reiterate that it is nothing personal but those who schedule these debates and the Minister's schedules should ensure that one Minister, the same Minister, is here for the entirety of the debate.