Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Report and Final Stages Dail Éireann — 2026-07-08 ============================================================ James Browne (FF), Wexford A lot of issues were raised. I will try to address as many as I can. In relation to the time and the use of the word "night", the definition of night time differs greatly between 21 June and 21 December. That would have created an extraordinary level of uncertainty as to when somebody can go in or not. That is why a time was chosen. The Deputy can argue about the time, but certainly using the word "night" would have given a great level of uncertainty. That is why a time was put in there for that matter. Nobody has ever suggested that this was a solution to homelessness. It will not affect the numbers. It will not increase the number of rough sleepers, either, in any shape or form. Regarding the appeal mechanism for those refused emergency accommodation, they can, of course, immediately reapply. That is the nature of emergency accommodation, unlike maybe other decisions the Government, State agencies or local authorities make. It is not the end of the road. They can go immediately back in and make another application. I intend to ensure that where somebody is refused emergency accommodation, a reason for their refusal will be communicated in writing. That person will have the right to have a decision reviewed by a more senior member in their local authority to ensure that there is consistency in the decision-making on it. On the comments about people sleeping out in the snow, every local authority has a severe weather protocol. I expect those to be put into place. Nobody should be out on the streets in extreme and severe weather. In my experience with local authorities and certainly in my own one, they are very responsive and take a very precautionary approach in those types of situations to ensure that people are not out. Children, of course, are exempt from these rules. That is very important to remember in the context of some of the comments that have been made. It is important to remind Members what we are discussing here. This is legal and habitual residence. Regarding what local authority a person is entitled to apply for, that is more to do with the local connection. It is not habitual residence. Habitual residence is about your intent to remain in the State and make the State your home. The local connection is a very different matter and is more concerned with the local authority under which you will make your application. Rough sleepers are very much considered here. That is why there is a safety net. Not only can people immediately reapply for emergency accommodation but if there is any risk of them rough sleeping, they will be given accommodation on a night-to-night basis, for two nights initially and then night to night after that. If somebody does need to establish legal and habitual residence in the State and they are looking for long-term supports from the State, it not an onerous requirement that they should be legally here and intending to stay here and that this is their home. That is the current policy. We are ensuring it is put in on a statutory basis. I do not have any particular issue in relation to it. Regarding human trafficking, if somebody is trafficked, the initial supports are provided by the Department of justice. There are strong protocols in place there. I know that because I was in the Department of justice. That Department will be able to make the decision as to the status of that person and whether to issue that person a visa or what status they should have to remain here. On domestic violence, again, this is about legal and habitual residence. If somebody who is subject to domestic violence needs emergency accommodation, they will be provided with emergency accommodation. Only last week, I brought in new rules to allow people who are the victims or survivors of domestic violence to bring their time served in one local authority to another local authority to ensure that the supports are put in place. One of the reasons we are bringing in the legislation is to ensure that there is consistency, because there is a level of inconsistency right across the country among local authorities. I have seen it myself. While local authorities are very much doing their best in often very difficult situations, putting it in legislation and on a statutory basis brings that level of consistency such that staff in local authorities will know exactly how to apply the law and know what the law is. They will be given support and guidance from my Department. That crucial safety net is there for people who are at risk of rough sleeping. I have addressed most of the key issues, although maybe not the invective. --- 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/dail/2026-07-08/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:07+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-07-08