Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Second Stage Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-09 ============================================================ Laura Harmon (LAB), Industrial and Commercial Panel Fáilte roimh an Aire. It is long overdue for the Government to enact changes to ensure that the implementation and enforcement of relevant Department circulars are put on a statutory footing, so some elements of this Bill are tentatively welcome. However, we have significant concerns that the legislation may make it more difficult for those who are entitled to access social housing to access it, by increasing and complicating the criteria they have to meet. Most concerningly, the amendments rushed through the Dáil last night codify the strict, arbitrary rules on eligibility and access to emergency accommodation. Vulnerable people will no longer have access to the safety net used by local authorities before these changes to protect them from rough sleeping. Instead, the previous rules will be replaced with a highly restrictive statutory safety net that caps night-time shelter at only two nights. This is a blatant and shameful attempt to massage down the homeless figures by driving up rough sleeping. The Bill, as a whole, is a disaster on homelessness. It is critical that we enable those in urgent need to acquire the social housing or emergency accommodation they desperately require. The Bill makes it more difficult on both counts. We have seen a 50% increase in tenancy termination notices, and homelessness figures have risen to over 17,000. That number will continue to rise. We know it is not the full figure, as it does not include people who are rough sleeping, couch surfing or in refuges. To pull away the very last resort for so many vulnerable people - access to emergency accommodation - is sickening. I believe it is wrong. This is the latest misstep in a long line of disastrous policies from this Minister. Whether it is the botched rental rules, the abandonment of annual targets or last night’s amendments, it is clear that the Government is flailing around, with no idea of how to tackle this housing crisis. I share the concerns of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, which wrote to the Minister this week. I also share the concerns of many NGOs and organisations that have contacted me directly, including the Free Legal Advice Centre and Focus Ireland, to name but two. What assessments have been conducted in this regard? Will the Department implement the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission's recommendation to consider the human rights and equality implications of this change to legislation? I encourage the Minister to engage with these groups. It is a significant expansion of the proposed requirements applying to those seeking emergency accommodation. Vulnerable groups and those who are already at risk of homelessness will be more at risk. We are talking, for example, of the Traveller community and the Roma community, those who are victims of trafficking, survivors of domestic violence and those who might be leaving institutional settings. We believe they will be more at risk because of this. The appeal process is very short, at 14 days, and there is the absence of an entitlement to an oral hearing. These are issues that have been highlighted as concerns by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. There is also the entitlement to the legal advice provisions as part of this. This is something that comes up with me all of the time when I am speaking with people in Cork, in particular, in Cork South-Central. We have already talked about the increased number of evictions and termination notices that we have seen because of the changes to the rental tenancy rules earlier this year. It is very concerning. It is of concern not just to those renting, but also to many landlords in the market, in particular, small landlords, who are pulling out of the market as a result. That legislation has doubled down on homelessness, and this Bill is also incredibly worrying. It is also worrying that all members of particular households are taken into consideration together, so if there is an issue with one member not being eligible, it can affect an entire household. That is extremely problematic, and I would like a response from the Minister on that. I echo what other Senators have said regarding more support for local authorities to tackle housing, emergency accommodation, homelessness and dereliction, and to have the ability to build and acquire more housing. The Government needs to work more closely with the local authorities in this regard. Ultimately, we have more concerns about this legislation than points to welcome. We will seek to make amendments on Committee Stage. While the Minister is in the Chamber, I will take the opportunity to put on record that I am deeply concerned with the decision on the granting of planning for the building of apartments on the Bessborough mother and baby home site. It is national breaking news today that planning has been granted for 106 apartments. This was Cork City Council's planning decision. It was not voted on by the elected councillors. I believe it is the wrong decision. A lot of social housing has been approved in that area and there is more to come. The Labour Party has supported the rezoning of land for appropriate social housing and infrastructure. This particular planning decision is incredibly worrying. I wanted to state that on the record. I ask the Minister to indicate whether he will intervene and provide the local authority with the funding to purchase this site. A compulsory purchase order needs to be initiated by the State in relation to this. This is a site of conscience, history, education and, most importantly, memory for the survivors, their families and those concerned who were affected by this. Imagine if we had built apartments on the land in Tuam, considering what we are uncovering on that site. It is a disgrace that this is being applied to Bessborough. I am grateful for being given the liberty to highlight this. I would greatly appreciate a response from the Minister. --- 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/2026-07-09/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:11+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-07-09