Nursing Homes Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-25 ============================================================ Christopher O'Sullivan (FF), Cork South-West I do not have the exact details of this case but Senator Cosgrove has set them out quite clearly. She has described a picture in which some of the most vulnerable people in our society have had no input in a situation where their future is uncertain. They do not know where they are going to go. She referenced people with dementia and people with mobility issues. They are some of the most vulnerable older people in society. I appeal to those involved and to the owners to have a heart and to consider the impact that any such move would have on these individuals. The work Senator Cosgrove is doing and the picture she has painted is heartbreaking. I will outline the legislative background behind this and the role of the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, which I hope will help. Perhaps we can further discuss other options. The Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2026 regulate the landlord-tenant relationship in the residential rental sector and set out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. The Acts protect tenants and landlords of all ages, with or without a disability. The Acts apply to every dwelling that is the subject of a tenancy, subject to a limited number of exceptions. Dwellings covered by the Acts include the private rental sector, the cost rental sector, the approved housing body sector and student specific accommodation. The Residential Tenancies Board was established as an independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 to operate a national tenancy registration system and to facilitate the resolution of disputes between landlords and tenants. The dispute resolution service provided by the RTB is quasi-judicial and all of its mediators, adjudicators and tribunal members have independent decision-making powers in the same way as judges have in the courts. Where there is a question as to the validity of a notice of termination, a tenant can submit a dispute for resolution with the RTB under Part 6 of the Acts. Its website, rtb.ie , can be assessed for information on the RTB's dispute resolution service. Due to the quasi-judicial nature of the RTB's dispute resolution service, it would be inappropriate for me, as Minister of State, or the Department to provide legal advice or to intervene in the specifics of any individual case. Significant legislative changes have been introduced over the past number of years to enhance security of tenure for all tenants. From 6 July 2022, the Residential Tenancies Acts have been amended to further enhance tenancy protections, including by providing for tenancies of unlimited duration after six months under tenancies without a valid notice of termination having been served, and the extension of termination notice periods where there has been no breach of obligations. The Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026 came into operation on 1 March 2026. The reform of the rental sector provides stronger protections for tenants and encourages investment in the sector through updated rent controls. In order to provide greater security of tenure for tenants, the 2026 Act provides stronger tenant protections by significantly restricting no fault evictions for new tenancies. The existing provision for tenancies of unlimited duration is strengthened by the incorporation of rolling six-year tenancies of minimum duration. How a landlord can end any existing tenancy agreement is not impacted by the new rental changes. The stronger tenancy protections only apply to a new tenancy created on or after 1 March 2026. There is no six-year rent resetting option or six-year rolling tenancies of minimum duration for pre-March 2026 tenancies. This outlines the position. I appreciate the case that Senator Cosgrove is making on behalf of these people. We cannot necessarily intervene by providing legal advice but I appeal to the owners of the properties in this instance to have regard for some of the most vulnerable people in society. --- 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/2026-03-25/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:46+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-03-25