Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-19
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Chris Andrews (SF), Labour Panel

In relation to this particular amendment, again, I have concerns that there is going to be a huge increase in the number of people seeking to access the services of the RTB. As it is, the numbers applying for adjudication in the RTB are clearly increasing. That is unlikely to dwindle any time soon, especially with the measures in this Bill. Quite a number of people have contacted me with concerns they have about delays in meeting with the RTB and getting adjudication. Is the plan that there will be increased resources allocated to the RTB? Like I said, many people have contacted me in this regard. The RTB is already under pressure.
A lot of people also raise with me concerns that matters affecting Dublin City Council tenants are not able to be adjudicated by the RTB. They have to go through Dublin City Council. In many ways, it is a conflict of interest in terms of the council adjudicating on conditions in local authority flat complexes. It does not make sense for local tenants who put up with dampness and mould and rat infestations. The council is expected to deal with that, but it does not deal with it. It talks to the residents. If a tenant goes in to complain about mould on their wall and their children have some sort of health condition, the council official will come out and give them a cloth and some bleach. It is unfair that they do not have access to the RTB. The RTB would be much more independent than Dublin City Council. It is like the Garda investigating the Garda, or politicians investigating politicians. It never works out well, and it does not work out well for council tenants. The RTB clearly needs to get much more funding. With that funding, it can provide a service for tenants. It is already under pressure. I have had a number of tenants contact me. I know the offices of all my colleagues in the Chamber have been inundated with matters involving tenants, for example, in HAP properties. People have issues with HAP where the landlord has withheld deposits. The RTB deals with a huge variety of issues, and it does not have the funding to deal with them properly. It is important.
The Irish Glass Bottle, IGB, site is obviously a high-end development in which there will eventually be 3,800 new homes, and 350 of them will be social housing, which, of course, will be very welcome to the local community. However, it is only a drop in the ocean compared with what the Ringsend-Irishtown-Pearse Street community need and deserve. There are over 1,000 people on the waiting list for a one-bedroom flat or apartment in area M, which covers Dublin 2, 4 and 6.
It is ridiculous. People are living in crowded accommodation. They cannot afford to rent. When they do rent, they are at the mercy of the landlord and the RTB producing and delivering a service and adjudicating in a fair and balanced way.
I mentioned Pearse Street. Pearse House residents were waiting for regeneration, but stage 2 of a regeneration plan was pulled by the Government. The Government has now said it will do deep retrofitting which will not, of course, increase the size of the flats. People will still be living in tiny boxes. It will not address many of the problems. Raw sewage comes up and there are leaks in the infrastructure in Pearse House. The tenants were devastated when the regeneration programme was pulled. They have asked to meet the Minister. It is disappointing that he would not meet them. He should meet them. It is only fair that he does so.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:39+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-19