Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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46. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government when he will publish the new rental strategy; and his plans to make amendments to legislation to give further protections to both tenants and landlords. [28633/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In publishing Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, the Government has set out a practical and readily implementable set of actions to create a functioning and sustainable housing system. The Plan is available at the website .

The Plan is divided into five pillars, with each targeting a specific area of the housing system for attention.

Pillar 4 of the Plan commits to bringing forward legislation to amend the Residential Tenancies Acts for early enactment. These legislative proposals will be given effect through the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2016, the General Scheme of which was approved by Government on 27 September 2016. The Bill includes measures to prevent a future recurrence of situations where large numbers of residents in a single development are simultaneously served with termination notices, together with other early actions to enhance the Residential Tenancies Board’s (RTB) enforcement and dispute resolution powers.

In addition, Pillar 4 commits to developing and publishing a comprehensive strategy for the rental sector by the end of this year. The strategy will be structured around 4 key areas: security, standards, supply and services. The overarching objective of the strategy will be to increase supply and support the development of a stable, strong and viable rental sector offering choice for households, investment opportunities for providers and reflecting the rights and responsibilities of both tenants and landlords.

Following completion of the strategy, consideration will be given to the introduction of any further legislative amendments necessary to give effect to the actions proposed.