Seanad debates

Wednesday, 2 October 2013

Upward Only Rent (Clauses and Reviews) Bill 2013: Second Stage

 

3:00 pm

Photo of Ivana BacikIvana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is right. As Senator Byrne said, it was not only about property rights. The striking down of the Bill was also related to the position of the family in Article 41 of the Constitution. The judgment was that the Bill went too far in encroaching upon the right of the family to decide for itself on what basis the ownership of the family home would be allocated. These are simply two illustrations of the way in which property rights have been interpreted by the Supreme Court. I do not agree with that but we need to be cognisant of it.

There is conflicting legal advice about what we can and cannot do. It is arguable that we could seek to tackle the issue of upward-only rent reviews in a retrospective fashion, but to do so would require some form of compensation scheme. That argument has been strongly made. I realise there is no contemplation of a compensation scheme in this Bill. The Seanad could not do so because it would involve a charge on the Exchequer. Perhaps that requires further examination but it would be a serious matter to start bringing in a compensation scheme given the current economic climate.

It is regrettable that we cannot take a more generous approach to the Bill. I strongly believe, as does my party, that this is something that needs to be tackled. We are conscious of the serious issues facing businesses, especially small retail establishments which have these clauses in their lease agreements. The previous Government ran up against exactly the same difficulty that we are faced with.

I suggest that Senator Quinn might consider adjourning the debate on the Bill, as we have done previously in the Seanad, without calling a vote on it in order that we could explore some way in which it might pass constitutional muster. There is a serious issue about the undue or elevated protection of property rights in the Constitution and that is the central problem.

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