Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Report and Final Stages
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-08
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Thomas Gould (SF), Cork North-Central

I will not repeat what my colleagues have said but the fact is we are denying tenants their fundamental protections and rights under the RTB. That is wrong. Tenants who are paying their rent every week, including where there is antisocial behaviour, are entitled to their rights. We are creating a two-tier system, with renters who are covered by the RTB on the one hand and then, on the other, people living in these beds in sheds. We are talking about independent accommodation in people's back gardens. It is not like renting a room in a house. These are stand-alone dwellings and the tenants living there are not sharing the homeowner's bathroom, front room or kitchen. People paying rent on a stand-alone residence should be entitled to the same protection as other renters. I ask the Minister, as others have asked him, to consider that. Why would he not provide people with the protections and rights to which they are entitled?

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Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-08