Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

All I can say to allay the Senator's concern is that if this is to happen, it must have the consent of the Minister, regardless of who the Minister is. The Minister of the day will always be accountable to both Houses of the Oireachtas. I cannot know what the outcome of the next general election will be. If I were betting, I would bet that it will be another minority Government. When we are working in a minority Government, as we are doing at the moment, the vast majority of what we do is done with the consent of the House. The way in which this legislation has progressed since it was commenced is an example of that. I refer to the new provisions that are now included in it. Amendments were tabled, debated and accepted. All of this was done with the consent of Deputies of all parties and none. This is a very good example of how that works. It works well because of the great reforms we are making. That type of burden would also fall to a Minister in a future Government. If the RTB were to propose such a change, the Minister of the day would have to consent to it. I repeat that such a change is not being proposed. This is about thinking into the future. The example I have given relates to circumstances in which there might be a balance of power differential between a large landlord and a number of tenants. It is a question of what the RTB may or may not seek to do at some point in the future.