Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I think the Minister of State for his response. I will not press our amendments and will withdraw them in light of his comments. Our amendments were submitted before we knew the content of the Government amendments. The legal withholding of deposits is, as I said, a major issue and takes up a large proportion of the time of organisations like Threshold which advocates for tenants, as well as the PRTB which, as the Minister of State said, mediates in such circumstances.

Many tenants are not aware of their rights regarding deposits and the return and the withholding of a deposit from a tenant for an extended period of time is common and causes serious hardship for people who are trying to secure new places to live or cover the costs of moving. A relative of mine had a very difficult time with a landlord who took a deposit. Through mediation with the PRTB, it initiated legal proceedings and the landlord skipped the country. She never got her deposit back. The fact that this scheme will be implemented will go a long way to protect tenants and make sure they get their property back because deposits, as the PRTB has emphasised, are the property of tenants and not that of landlords. I welcome the insertion of this principle into the Bill and will not press our amendments.