Residential Tenancies and Valuation Bill 2020: Second Stage Seanad Éireann — 2020-07-31 ============================================================ Peter Burke (FG), Longford-Westmeath I take the Senator's point on the building of homes. We must have a blend of measures, including getting back to home building in local authorities. It is what we are trying to do and there is a renewed emphasis and strength in that with the programme for Government, which is very important. The Senator also mentioned the right to housing and related significant matters, and we must respond to those. The programme for Government takes a view on them. Action on the ground, such as putting infrastructure and houses in place, will make life better for people than just changing the wording on something but I also note the aims of the programme for Government in this regard. I listened to Senator Martin's contribution and it is great to have somebody who has experience working with the Residential Tenancies Board. It was interesting. He spoke of the common good and we are working to achieve a balance in the common good so we can respond to ensure those in our most vulnerable tenancies in our State can be protected. This Bill achieves that through a narrow scope. It is important to strike the balance mentioned by Senator Martin. I thank Senator Davitt and all Senators for their good wishes, which I genuinely appreciate, as I will need them in this job. It is a very challenging role, as we can see. The Senator mentioned acquisitions and 2,772 houses were acquired in 2019 through the local authority process. Senator Eugene Murphy spoke of the blight of homelessness and I absolutely agree with this. We have all met people in our clinics affected by this and feel for them, and we are all trying to resolve this matter as fast as we can. I thank Senator Ward for his remarks. He spoke about the Valuation Act 2001 as referred to in section 14 of this Bill, articulating the challenges that existed in local authorities before this. He also responded to remarks from other Members in the Houses. I listened to Senator Boyhan's remarks, which were very partisan, if I might say so. He may take the view that he is fed up of some people coming to this House over the past number of years but I have come here to do my best. I am not a landlord but the Senator implied we are in certain categories or boxes. I am a husband, a father and I hold clinics where I meet people from the most vulnerable parts of society. I have not heard any big ticket solutions from the Senator. I am trying my best to put through a piece of legislation that would respect the most vulnerable people in our society. We have done a good job in this regard and the programme for Government does a similarly good job in articulating the actions to be taken. There is an idea that people can throw others into categories, saying X is this and Y is that. The majority, if not all, of people in this House and the Dáil are trying to do their best for others. They have been elected with a mandate. The Senator might speak about amendments not being accepted but we all have a democratic mandate. This House will decide anything I wish or do not wish to press. It is not me but the House that decides such matters, and that is democracy in action. The Senator might argue the points on any other issue but that is what it comes down to. Senator Byrne articulated well how we are trying to change from acquisitions to house building, which is very important. We have a renewed urgency in this regard. There were references to the past and the former Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy. From 2016 to 2019, he met his targets: in 2016 the target was for 4,240 units and over 5,700 were delivered; in 2017 the target was 5,050 units and 7,095 delivered; in 2018 the target was 7,869 units and 8,422 were delivered; and in 2019 the target was 10,000 and more than 10,000 were delivered. This was through a blended approach that involves all the different measures. He did his best. We must work harder to provide solutions for people. It is great to hear problems being identified. I am in the business of providing concrete solutions that will protect the most vulnerable tenants in our State. That is the balance this Bill strikes. I thank Senator Carrigy for his comments and goodwill. It relates to what he said regarding the pressures in our cities. The national planning framework clearly captures how we will be trying to expand in the regions over the coming decades. We must follow that as the guide in terms of how to improve our society and ensure that we build in the most appropriate places because planning will always be intrinsically linked to housing. One cannot have a house without proper planning and the proper processes to govern that. Senator Gavan went through a number of issues relating to his home area. It is very important to note that, as a constituency representative, I am not immune to the most vulnerable, significant cases on the ground, which I meet every week in my clinics. Some are very distressing. We work to try to resolve them. That is what I am here to do. Sometimes it is advanced that certain people have a patent on compassion and understanding and they think everyone else has a different view on life. That is not the case because I know the real issues on the ground. I was a councillor for a number of years before I was elected to the Dáil. I am committed to doing that and to ensuring that most vulnerable are protected and treated with respect and compassion. That is what this Bill aims to do. I appreciate Senator O'Loughlin's comments. She articulated very clearly the way the rent crisis relates to social housing. It is a case of supply and demand. There has been criticism in the past but we have come a long way. We are not too far removed from the era of ghost estates, deficits in our infrastructure and trying to rebalance that to deliver houses in the face of all the challenges brought about by a growing economy. This is a significant issue that must be responded to with a blend of measures. That is what we are trying to do in this programme for Government. I thank Senator Wall for his comments. He is concerned about HAP. It is possible to travel through county boundaries. There is an application process there. Once someone reaches the income thresholds for the relevant county for which he or she is going forward, he or she is able to do that. The Senator also mentioned the number of homeless people, which is a matter of acute concern for us all. There are many services working with the most vulnerable. Along with the Minister, the Government and its partners, I want to do my best to ensure that we can meet that demand and do our best to resolve it. I appreciate the many views that were put forward. We are under pressure to get this Bill through the Houses because there is a time constraint involved. The Bill is needed now. We need to give key protection to tenants - those at the coalface of Covid-19, those who have had their incomes reduced and those on various different payments the State has put in place. We urgently need this response. We cannot delay this legislation. I sat in the Dáil yesterday and went through all the amendments here again this morning. I am confident that this Bill meets the requirement of getting the balance right between the two actors in this process and ensuring that protections are in place for tenants who face the most acute eviction notices. The ESRI, which produced a report, and Threshold are operating at the coalface. I am very happy with the balance struck. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. 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