Residential Tenancies and Valuation Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2020-07-31
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Barry Ward (FG), Industrial and Commercial Panel

With regard to the concerns expressed around the rushing of this legislation, I agree with the Senators and, in fairness, I believe the Minister of State does too. Nobody wants to have a situation where, as we have, every piece of legislation that has come before the Twenty-sixth Seanad has gone through all Stages in a very short period of time. In every instance there has been a logical and necessary basis for that, but nobody thinks it is desirable. I have discussed this with many of the Ministers who have come before the House and I am pleased to say that many of them have, as the Minister of State, Deputy Burke has today, acknowledged the fact that there is room when we resume in September to take up issues that have arisen in the course of debates here and address them in a more considered and perhaps slower way than we have at the moment. I agree with the Senators' comments that it is undesirable to rush legislation through as we are. I say this while recognising the necessity for some of the provisions here, including the fact that we will not sit again until September and in the context of the current crisis we are going through.
I also want to address, much in the way that Senator Byrne did, the comments of Senator Boyhan, a man who was my ward colleague in the local authority of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, a man I know very well and for whom I have great respect. I do have difficulties, however, with the question he asked on Second Stage and which has been addressed by other speakers, on who landlords are. It is a matter of public record.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:31+00:00
Sitting date: 2020-07-31