Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I must invite him to Dublin 1 or Dublin 7 some time, where there are a number of households in which people are living in extremely overcrowded conditions. They pay rent to the landlord, who then charges them for electricity and other utilities on top of that. Ultimately, however, it is the landlord who puts though the payments for those utilities. These landlords, who are already extremely greedy as it is, will benefit from the emergency payment and will not pass it on to their tenants. We are simply asking in this amendment that a legislative responsibility or onus be placed on the landlord to ensure the benefit is passed on to those who are paying the electricity bill.

There are many examples of people having to make an extra payment in respect of utilities on top of their rent. I listened to the Minister of State's concerns about landlords and cases in which bills are included in the rent. However, there are many examples of where utilities are paid by the tenant in addition to the rent. These are the cases we are talking about and it should not be beyond the bounds of the Government's remit to legislate to ensure occupants, who need this help, get it. We have incorporated a dispute resolution mechanism into the amendment, which will enable people to go to the RTB if there is a dispute between landlord and tenant. The Minister of State's response is most disappointing. I ask him to reflect on the situation of those people I am engaging with in Dublin 1 and Dublin 7. I have no doubt there are people in the same situation in his constituency.