John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)

I again thank Senator Boyhan for raising this matter. I take the points he has made on board. Obviously, the Housing Commission made recommendations in this space. These are being considered by the Department. There are obvious issues with sequencing, cost implications and so on involved. As a result, the Senator will appreciate that there is a significant body of work to be done.There is no point introducing something if it cannot be implemented. The last thing we want to see is a system being implemented that is not resourced adequately. The Senator would rightly be back in this Chamber complaining that the people he is advocating for are not able to access the protections he is speaking to.

In the interim, the Housing Acts 1996 to 2024 provide protections. I encourage local authority tenants who have issues to raise them through the complaints procedure and the Ombudsman but I assure the Senator recommendations from the commission are being kept under consideration by the Department.