Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My best reply to the Order of Business is to bring the vibe down an octave or two and I ask Members to reflect wisely on what we have discussed.

Over 13 Senators have raised the matter of the Bill before the Dáil. As Senator Kieran O'Donnell said, thankfully the Dáil will debate it today and tomorrow. I hope the Bill will reach us on Tuesday. It is important that we put the matter in context and park all of our political ideology. As we speak here today there are 132,000 tenants in Dublin and 18,000 tenants in Cork awaiting the legislation and, therefore, it is important that the Bill progresses. The Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coveney, is determined to work with all sides to bring certainty and security to tenants and landlords. The job of this House is to set its own business and to do an effective job. I am confident that we will do so in a timely and positive manner.

Senator Ned O'Sullivan is a pragmatist like myself and we were both right to wait for a resolution to take place this afternoon. Let us put the matter in context because some people here have a misguided notion of the rental market. There are more tenants than landlords. The legislation is a major and radical intervention in the rental market. Senators have stood up on the mountain and talked about the landlord class and a lack of intervention by the Government. I urge them to read the statement issued by the ESRI yesterday. I want to outline to Members, and to the Sinn Féin party in particular, that if they intervene too aggressively the housing supply will be shut off. We must have supply. I am confident that the Minister, who has worked with Deputy Cowen in Fianna Fáil and, to be fair, with Deputy Ó Broin will get the legislation right. The legislation has not been rushed. Let me put that in context. We gave it a long, detailed and considered hearing in this House. The Minister has been one of most willing Ministers to come to the House and he has engaged with Members on all sides. In his speeches on Second Stage, Committee Stage and Report Stage he flagged the idea that he would table amendments and deal with the issue of rent certainty as part of the Bill. The process was agreed by all of us.