Residential Tenancies and Valuation Bill 2020: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2020-07-31
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Sharon Keogan (IND), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Seanad to explain the Bill. Many of the Bills that have come before us this week have been completely rushed. I will support several of the amendments that have been tabled.
Earlier this week, Senator Fitzpatrick spoke about the number of people who have died in our city of Dublin. People are dying in many cities throughout the country, whether in hostel accommodation or on the streets. This should not happen. It is probably one of the reasons Fine Gael lost the general election. The biggest catastrophe the State has experienced relates to how we look after those who are most vulnerable. When I saw a child eating off a cardboard box on the streets of Dublin, it certainly did not make me proud to be in local government at the time.
This week alone, while I may be sitting in this Chamber I am also dealing with people who are being evicted from their houses by mortgage companies and banks. I am dealing with people who are being evicted from their houses because the landlords are selling them. They cannot find anywhere to rent. I do a lot of good things in my life but I just do not have the time to focus on trying to find houses for people to rent. I just do not have that ability. I do not have the time to do it. They are crying out for houses to rent. People cannot get landlords to take housing assistance payments. In parts of County Meath, where I am from, the housing assistance payment does not even meet two thirds of what people are looking for. In Dunboyne, Ratoath and Ashbourne, for example, people looking to rent a two-bedroom property will pay €1,500 to €1,800 for it. The HAP may only provide €900 to €1,000. We will have to look at this or we will end up with more homeless people.
One good thing about Covid, and there is only one good thing that I can see, is that it reduced our figures for homelessness, according to Focus Ireland, from 10,000 to 8,000. Whatever we did right during that time, we need to continue to do it for these people. We look at the level of supply and we realise that there is simply not enough. If we look at the local development plans, whether in Kildare or Meath, we are told that fully serviced land has to be dezoned. We are told we can only build 4,000 houses between now and 2024. This will not meet the needs of those who require housing in County Meath. We will have to look at the development plans being done throughout the country and see how we can improve the supply of housing in these areas.
With regard to section 4, the written declaration could cause problems for people that I and county councillors deal with on a daily basis. There are 500,000 people in this country who cannot read or write. I do not know how many times I have filled in documents for people who cannot read or write. Many local authority members throughout the country do the same. I do not know what the Minister of State will do about this. The document will mean absolutely nothing to these 500,000 people. I do not know how the Minister of State will communicate to the most vulnerable but he will have to get the message out to them that help will be there for them. I can jump up and down here with my colleagues, I can object to every amendment or I can propose and second every amendment but it will not do anything because it will be defeated. I want the Minister of State to do better for those who are most vulnerable and those who need support, whether it be the tenant or the landlord. I want the Minister of State to be there for both.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2020-07-31/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:31+00:00
Sitting date: 2020-07-31