Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Acting Chairperson very much. I am glad she raised that issue. There are two problems with the Commencement matters. I mean no disrespect to the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, who is does not have the portfolio, nor is he in Department relating to the Commencement matter I raised. I also have an issue with the Seanad Office accepting that the Department I wanted to answer the question refused and passed the buck to another Department. I wanted the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to respond to this matter. It passed the buck to the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and today I have a Minister of State who is not in either of those Departments here to answer the question.

I raise an issue faced by renters and owner occupiers in apartment buildings with management companies. Clauses in rental agreements prohibit residents from drying their clothes outside on balconies, in gardens, from windows and, in some cases, even inside the property if the clothing is visible from the outside. In principle, it is a draconian overreach by landlords and management companies to tell people how they should be drying their clothes. I cannot think of any good reason landlords feel the need to do this, besides preserving some warped aesthetic sensibility which smacks of snobbery to me. If that is the case, they need to grow up. We live in the real world. We are in a cost-of-living crisis and a climate crisis. The implications for the tenant and society certainly trump the aesthetics of having some clothes hanging on a clothesline.

The net effect of these bans is that people are left with no choice but to use energy-intensive appliances such as tumble dryers. Unfortunately, I wanted to say this to the Minister or a Minister of State in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, which is currently running a campaign on the national airwaves telling people not to use their tumble dryers, and it is absolutely correct.They are energy intensive, but the Department is literally gaslighting entire swathes of the population who have no choice but to use tumble dryers because their management companies or tenancy agreements will not allow them to dry their clothes outside, or on clothes horses on balconies. In a cost-of-living crisis, the use of tumble dryers adds to the cost. There are also health implications because if renters cannot dry their clothes out on the balcony or they cannot afford to use the dryer, the moisture is not good for their respiratory illnesses either.

What needs to happen to solve the problem, which does not fall to the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, is that legislation must be amended to create an obligation on landlords and management companies to allow renters and owner-occupiers to dry their clothes. That could be achieved by amending section 12 of the Residential Tenancies Act. I look forward to hearing the response that was sent by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, which will probably tell me all about the wonderful campaigns it is running on the airwaves about how we can save energy. What I really want is to get a response from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which I will continue to try to pursue.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Boylan for raising this very important issue. It is timely to give an update on the Government's supports for landlords to retrofit their rental properties.

The climate action plan has set ambitious targets to retrofit the equivalent of 500,000 homes to a building energy rating of B2 and to install 400,000 heat pumps. In the residential rental sector, the so-called split-incentive issue can arise when incentives to invest in energy-efficiency upgrades are misaligned between landlords and tenants. My Department undertook a public consultation in late 2019 and early 2020 on the split-incentive issue, as it impacts on the objective to improve energy-efficiency standards in the rental sector. The findings from the consultation have informed the development of a number of new measures aimed at improving the energy efficiency of the rental sector. The Government's Housing for All Plan commits to the introduction of a minimum BER for private rental properties, where feasible, from 2025, and to develop a roadmap to implement these standards. The national home energy upgrade scheme and the community energy grant scheme, which are administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, offer grants of up to 50% of the total cost of upgrades to B2 BER and are available to private landlords. Higher grant amounts are available to approved housing bodies. Private landlords can also avail of new increased rates of grant support to upgrade their rental properties on a step-by-step basis under the better energy homes scheme. As the Senator is aware, this includes 80% grants for attic and cavity wall insulation and a €700 grant for heating controls.

Just last week, my colleague, the Minister for Finance, announced a new tax incentive to encourage small-scale landlords to undertake retrofitting works. This measure will provide for a tax deduction of up to €10,000 per property, against case V rental income, for certain retrofitting expenses incurred by the landlord on rented residential properties, for a maximum of two rental properties. This new tax deduction is in addition to the SEAl's grants, and the combination of both measures offers substantial support to landlords to retrofit their rental properties. I have read out exactly what Senator Boylan said I would be reading out. I thank her for her indulgence. It is also intended that non-corporate landlords will be able to avail of the planned low-cost loan scheme for retrofitting when it is launched early next year. In addition, the climate action plan commits to upgrading 36,500 local authority-owned homes to B2 by 2030. An allocation of €87 million was provided for this programme in budget 2023. The new action plan to combat energy poverty will be published in the coming weeks. This action plan will set out the range of measures being implemented ahead of the coming winter, as well as key longer-term measures to ensure those least able to afford increased energy costs are supported and protected.

I agree with Senator Boylan's proposal. We are all trying to cut down on the use of tumble dryers. I hope renters and owner-occupiers will be allowed to dry their clothes on balconies. There must be some flexibility. I will bring the proposal back to the Minister because it makes sense. I was aware of some draconian measures, but in the current climate it would make great sense. The action plan to combat energy poverty might contain some detail in that regard. As Senator Boylan says, there may need to be a change in legislation.

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State. Will he bring the proposal back to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, who is responsible for it despite the fact that the Department says it is not responsible for it? When we read the Standing Orders governing Commencement matters, it proves that we should be getting a response on the issue from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I remind the House that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is a relevant body under the climate Act, so there is a responsibility there, and that it does not all fall to the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications.

What the Minister of State has outlined from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications about retrofitting homes is all well and good, but he also referred to the split incentive for tenants, which depends on the landlord doing it. I would caution the Government on the tax breaks for landlords to ensure that the qualifying works are not the same as the list used to evict tenants and break the rent freeze. We must also be very careful that we are not creating a loophole so that if landlords retrofit, and it is under the qualifying list of works, they will be able to increase the rent beyond the rent cap and avoid the eviction ban when the moratorium on evictions is lifted. I urge the Minister of State to report the caution that I have raised with the Minister. I welcome the new energy poverty strategy. It is worth noting that it lapsed in 2019.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator. The Government is acutely aware of the impact recent increases in global energy prices are having on households, and the urgent need to support people to stay warm in their homes this winter. We look up the weather every day. Thankfully, it is not as cold as it often it is at this time of year. A €2.4 billion package of supports was implemented in 2022, and a package of once-off measures worth €2.5 billion was included in budget 2023. The budget package includes the electricity costs emergency benefit scheme, through which €550, exclusive of VAT, is credited to each domestic electricity account in three payments. This will happen in November and December 2022 and in January-February and March-April 2023. The cost of the scheme is estimated at €1.2 billion. In addition to that scheme, there are many other supports such as the €400 lump sum for those in receipt of the fuel allowance; a €200 lump sum for pensioners and people with disabilities getting the living-alone allowance; and a €500 cost-of-living lump sum to all families getting the working family payment. The double payment of child benefit will support all families with children. A €500 cost-of-living payment will be paid in November to people in receipt of the carer's support grant. A €500 cost-of-living disability support grant will be paid to all people in receipt of a long-term disability payment. We are acutely aware that it is a very difficult time for everybody, given the increase in costs. I hope that in the coming weeks and months, the costs will come back to a level we can all live with.