John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand the points the Senators are making. One of the purposes of the previous Bill on residential tenancies that was voted on here, I think in May, was to close off some of those loopholes. Some landlords were abusing the principle of refurbishment and using a lick of paint or whatever as an excuse to impose a rent increase of over 4%. Equally, though, I stand over my point and do not see the contradiction.The point I was making earlier to Senator Gavan is that, essentially, to use his example, the difference between a rent of €900 per month versus €3,200 per month is approximately €15,000 per annum. If the landlord held the property out of tenancy for two years it would still be more beneficial for him or her to do it. The purpose of the amendment when it was introduced in the Dáil was to try to ensure that we do not have an adverse effect on the supply of protected structures that are in rental accommodation, albeit small. We should do more to try to encourage protected structures into rental accommodation.