Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have concerns about the Bill and I have said so. We have worked on this in the Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government. It is good for tenants. There are good landlords and bad landlords. Across the board, as previous speakers said, we must achieve that balance.

On the report, I seek clarification from the Minister on how many pre-1963 buildings are listed. How many do we have? What did the Department come back with? My other query relates to protected structures. One of the biggest issues with those who are living in old protected structures, whether a family home or a residence being rented, is that when one wants to get work done it costs twice as much as a normal works. I am dealing with a person in my own area who is living in an old bungalow that is a protected structure and the grant was applied for. There is a small grant for protected structures every January, and applications must be in within four weeks. It is difficult to get them. These are small grants for protected structures, which would be old buildings. Has the Minister looked at this in its entirety, including the grant for protected structures, to find out exactly how many there are in the country and how many are pre-1963 that would be listed?I do not know how many such structures are in existence. There are not many pre-1963 houses in my area, for example. The telephone calls I have been getting are mainly from people in Dublin. What does the report indicate? I did not see a copy of it at the Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government. I would like to know what the figures are in that regard. If they are provided, when we pass legislation we will at least know that we have the correct information regarding the number of properties involved.