Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 19 inserts section 16 into the Bill to provide that the RTB tenancy tribunals are not required to be held in public in the period to 12 April 2021. We have covered most of this, to be fair. Section 16 of the Bill amends section 106 of the Residential Tenancies Act in this regard. The amendment is modelled on similar provisions: section 7 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020, pertaining to proceedings before tenancy tribunals; and section 8 of the Residential Tenancies and Valuation Act 2020, on proceedings before the tenancy tribunal under the Act of 2004.

I am not sure of the Senators' position on the section but the Government will not be dropping its amendment. I am sure the House agrees that the public health risks presented by Covid-19 are still present, so we want to make sure staff in the RTB are protected. I am not sure of the meaning or thrust of the Senators' amendment but, obviously, in the interest of the health of the RTB staff, we cannot accept it. I would not want to put the staff at risk.

Will we get a chance to address the Bill at the conclusion of the debate?