Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for attending to debate this urgent legislation. I share the views of colleagues that a number of Bills have been rushed through the House, some unnecessarily so. In this case, however, it is welcome. The Minister is deeply committed. I have known him a long time. He is willing to listen on all of these issues and I am sure he will listen to the concerns expressed on all sides.

I support this legislation strongly. It gives certainty to tenants during this difficult period and any future period. In that way, the Minister will not need to revert to the House time and again to introduce more emergency legislation.

It is all very well talking about providing protections for tenants and so on, but I welcome in particular the budget allocation of €10 million to local authorities for the rental inspections programme. This will be of considerable help to them in ensuring that the regulations on standards are met. There has also been a €2 million increase in funding for the RTB. We can have all the regulations possible, but not having the resources and staff to ensure they are adhered to has posed a challenge for a long time, particularly for local authorities.

I agree with Senator Seery Kearney about the rent-a-room issue. I was going to ask about tenants in private homes. Some clarity is required.

I hope that the Bill will be enacted. When it is, I ask that its impact be communicated clearly to tenants and landlords in understandable English and in a number of other languages, for example, Polish, Lithuanian and Latvian, for tenants and landlords whose first language is not English.

Sometimes, there is an image that this country is full of rogue landlords with lots of properties who just want to attack tenants. That needs to be challenged. More than 70% of landlords have just one property. They are often accidental landlords, for example, two individuals who had their own properties and came together to live in one, leaving one to spare. Certainly, there are rogue landlords exploiting tenants. I agree with Senator McDowell. When the next train comes into the station, which I am sure will be soon, we should address those landlords who are skirting around the legislation, particularly in terms of rent pressure zones, RPZs. Equally, we should address the problem of rogue tenants. A small number of tenants leave properties in an appalling state and at enormous cost to the landlords. Generally, it is one-property landlords who must bear the cost. As such, I am glad that the Bill's ban on evictions does not apply to those tenants who are engaged in criminal or antisocial behaviour. It would be unfair if they were able to have the protections provided by this legislation.

As the Minister knows, the main challenge on the rental side relates to supply. We are introducing many measures to protect tenants and so on, but the reason our rents are so high is because of the lack of supply. The Minister and I have discussed this matter regularly. Our key priority as a Government must be the delivery of affordable housing. We have to be able to deliver affordable housing. It remains ridiculous that, in almost any part of the country, someone who is renting can get a mortgage for less than his or her rent. I come from Gorey, where rent for a three-bedroom house costs in the order of €1,200 to €1,250 per month but a mortgage costs significantly less. It is the Minister's personal priority that we must help all of those individuals and couples who are aspiring to own their own homes. That must be the main priority for housing. If we can address the supply of affordable housing and allow access for individuals to same, many of the challenges that we are facing in the rental sector can be resolved.

I welcome the Minister's intentions in the Bill. I support the Bill. I ask that he take on board the importance of communicating its provisions, in particular multilingually.