Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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133. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the implementation of the code of conduct in relation to commercial leases since October 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55637/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I understand some businesses are under pressure to meet their fixed costs, such as rent, after what has been an exceptionally challenging period.

Last October, the Government published the Code of Conduct between landlords and tenants for commercial rents. The aim of the voluntary Code is to facilitate discussions between landlords and tenants impacted by COVID-19, as it is in everybody’s interest that terms are amicably agreed. Landlords should be willing to do what they can to help their tenants to continue to operate rather than facing the risk of a vacant premises and inability to obtain new tenants. Equally, tenants should pay what they can and speak with their landlord when difficulties arise.

Rather than letting the Code expire at the end of the July, as had been intended, I decided to extend the Code to the end of the year, which, at the time, was in line with the end date for other schemes such as the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) and the COVID-19 Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS). Officials in my Department are currently reviewing the Code of Conduct and a decision on whether to extend the Code beyond the end of this year will be taken shortly.