I will specifically refer to these amendments, which I will oppose. On Committee Stage, the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, indicated that he would bring forward amendments in the Seanad to provide that the chair and certain other members of the board would be recruited through the Public Appointments Service, and that the following would also nominate members: the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Ministers for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation a…

To come back to the points raised by the Deputies Nash and Cian O'Callaghan, again, it is intended that the Department of Housing. Local Government and Heritage nominee may be on the political control side of things. Similarly with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, there would be a consumer representative. I give the commitment that when the Bill is before the Seanad we will give further consideration to those in reviewing section 22. That may be the best place to try to further tease out those re…

As I have said, we will give consideration to review it at that stage.

I will give a general consideration on the review. The Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, has also given that commitment.

We will be opposing this amendment. The amendment seeks to require an applicant for registration to provide evidence that he or she is eligible for latent defects insurance. Latent defects insurance is taken out on a project-by-project basis and is it is not practical that the registration should be conditional on the possession of or eligibility for such insurance. While a builder of residential or non-residential buildings should possess such insurance, other categories or providers of building works such as bric…

Section 44 outlines the grounds for complaint under the Act regarding a registered member to the registration body. We must oppose amendments Nos. 30 and 31 to section 44, which seek to provide that failure to comply with building regulations and planning permission would be grounds for complaint. They are outside the scope of the Bill. This register is a register of competence of providers of building works. Therefore, non-compliance with building regulations is not grounds for a complaint. Failure to comply with …

Again, I reiterate that these amendments are outside the scope of the Bill. When the Bill comes before the Seanad, there will be further discussion on this matter. The Building Control Act and the Planning and Development Act provide the mechanisms around compliance in relation to planning permission and building regulations. I make those particular points, but there will also be further discussion on this matter in the Seanad shortly.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as an gceist seo a ardú. It is a really interesting question. He and I have debated this on a number of occasions, both in the Chamber and in these corridors. Local government services such as those referenced in the matter raised here today are funded in a variety of ways. Some programmes are supported by Exchequer funding and others from local authorities' own income, often a combination of both. Local authority income, in turn, comes from sources such as commercial rates, local…

I thank the Senator. The suggestion he made there is very useful. It would be a really useful exercise for the housing committee to have a look at this and at the overall funding of local government in general. We have a significant challenge. As the Senator rightly said, our local authorities are ambitious both at corporate level and among the elected members. They show real innovation - often in the face of dwindling resources - yet they cannot continually rely on car parking charges or development contributions,…

The figures the Senator gave are shocking. To have 60 properties in Kinsale is incredible. I will provide some background and come back to him on the supplementary question on the fuel rebate. To provide some background, legislative reforms to regulate the short-term letting sector through the planning code in areas designated as rent pressure zones, RPZs, were introduced under the Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 which came into effect on 1 July 2019. The aim of the…

On the €200 rebate, it is something I was not aware of and I will try to get clarification on that. As the Senator is aware, the rebate was introduced on a blanket scale to try to get money out to people as quickly as possible. I know it was criticised in that regard, but it was the most effective and quickest way to do that. We will find out about the specific issue of people with Airbnb properties. That is something we need to clarify. I wholeheartedly agree with the Senator. We would love to bring this legislati…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach agus leis na Seanadóirí. Like Senator Ward, I share that pride that we have in the response of the Irish people and the Government. It has been really touching. We attended an event this morning with the Ukrainian ambassador and ambassadors of other countries and it was chilling to hear the testimonies coming out of Ukraine at present. It is an unjustifiable war; an attack on a sovereign state. Our thoughts and prayers are with those fleeing the war and those who ar…

I, again, thank both Senators for raising this. It is important we continue to respond, as I said, as this evolves. We are in a wartime scenario. As a State, we are putting in place measures to ensure that people of Ukraine who are seeking refuge here will receive all the support they require. They will need psychological and other supports as well and this is something we have to respond to. I acknowledge the important role that is being played by the NGO sector in responding to this humanitarian crisis. They will…

I will come back to the Senator on Knocklofty House in my summary. In the context of the matter before us, I met with a number of gun clubs, the National Association of Regional Game Councils, NARGC, and other organisations involved that are representing the gun clubs. I recognise the important role they play in conservation, particularly of the red grouse, a very important species. It has long been a common agricultural practice in Ireland to occasionally burn vegetation growing on uncultivated land, especially on…

I welcome both comments. I was in the Cooley Mountains last week with an upland farmer. I met the Brandon Hill farmers and people involved in the Blackstairs EIP, European Innovation Partnership, project; they are fantastic people doing really important work. They need to be supported to do that. An initiative like this would be able to tease out all those issues and have a really good conversation on the best way to manage our uplands in a sustainable way. I would suggest that perhaps the Department of Agriculture…

Lá Idirnáisiúnta na mBan sona daoibh go léir. Happy International Women's Day in particular to all the amazing women elected to the Dáil, past and present, as well as all those in the Seanad and all women in politics. We remember in particular the women and young girls of Ukraine today, fleeing conflict and war and leaving behind husbands and fathers. We remember all women and girls fleeing or caught up in conflict. The words of a great woman, Ms Patti Smith, come to mind: And the armies ceased advancing Because th…

The current protections for tenants where a landlord terminates a tenancy because he or she needs vacant possession to substantially refurbish or renovate the rented property are sufficiently robust. The Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2021 provide that where a landlord terminates a tenancy because he or she needs vacant possession to substantially refurbish or renovate the rented property, that property must be offered back to the former tenant upon completion of such works, where the tenant provides contact de…

On the specific question of rent increases, since 2019 there have been exemptions around rent pressure zones for certain types of works. These might include a tenancy not existing in respect of the dwelling in the two years immediately prior to the current tenancy beginning. Such works might include a permanent alteration to the internal layout, adapting it for a person with a disability, a permanent increase in the number of rooms or improvement of the building energy rating of up to seven points. There are robust…

The Deputy mentioned the information available on the RTB website. It is quite clear that if vacant possession is sought for substantial works to the property, that property must be offered back to the tenant.

Again, I would appreciate it if the Deputy could provide examples to us as the property must be offered back. As we referenced, there are penalties in place if that is not the case. I referenced separately the point relating to substantial works around rent pressure zone areas. It is important to provide specific examples because it would be really useful from our perspective to see what they are and where those cases exist. The legislation is quite clear in protecting tenants in this regard. These works will be re…