Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

In no way am I questioning the Minister's intention to give the nod to a fee in the coming year or so. However, we cannot put that into legislation. We need something that will apply to whoever succeeds the Minister. It is proposed to include in the legislation a wide reference to cutting the fee. It does not mention that the burden of that fee would fall on the landlord. It does not mention anything about the affordability of the fee, or means testing the fee. There is no actual nuance in it to protect those who will be affected by this provision after the Minister has left office, regardless of who is in government, who is within the Department or who is making the decisions. It is too open. It would be better if there were nuance in it, but that is not the case. Landlords are not mentioned. There is no reference to the fee being means-tested. I do not think we can future-proof something in this way, given that we do not know what position the Minister will be in after the next general election. We do not know whether he will be in this role again. I do not think it is feasible to accept that the Minister's intention will be carried through when other Governments are in office.