Obviously a tenant has the capacity to intervene. The RTB cannot start intervening off its own bat. The key point is that the board is neutral. Having said that, we can seek advice from Threshold and go through the points the Senator is making. We are trying to achieve a fine balancing act in this legislation.

If a tenant believes that a notification in respect of arrears is invalid, he or she has recourse to the RTB. That is very clear in the legislation. The RTB is the regulator in these matters and it is very aware of the law in this regard. I am confident that the board is able to do its businesses and that we are balancing the rights of tenants and landlords in an impartial manner.

In terms of the notice period of 28 days, I remind the Senator that there are supports available, including through MABS, community welfare offices and the rent supplement scheme. Community welfare officers are turning around applications within three days. Things have improved drastically in terms of the supports that are there to help people who are struggling to pay their rent. We are very much focused in this Bill on the Covid-19 emergency and trying to safeguard people in tenancies who are vulnerable through t…

I hear the points that have been made but it is very important that we highlight the supports from the State that are available and are being turned around quickly. There will be people who will be in distress in terms of discharging their rent. This Bill deals with that with regard to Covid-19. There are State supports for other tenancies and they are being dealt with quickly. There is a three-day turnaround in respect of the community welfare officer, which is very efficient in terms of people undergoing stress. …

I thank the Cathaoirleach for his time, and I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach and the Senators of the House. It has been a high-quality debate and very engaging. I am aware that Senators have very genuine feelings about the various issues, which I really appreciate. I will endeavour to work and do my very best in the capacity of my office to try to advance the cause to improve tenants' quality of secured tenancies. That has to be the goal. I appreciate the courtesy afforded to me today.

In order to support the local government sector, my Department continues to keep local authority income, expenditure and cash flow under review and is working with all local authorities on all issues arising in the context of the Covid-19 public health emergency. While the County and City Management Association has estimated the loss of non-rates income for 2020 to be in the region of €91 million, it is not possible to accurately calculate the loss of income from commercial rates for all of 2020 at this stage due t…

I assure the Deputy that the Department is working very hard and liaising with local authorities on a daily basis to measure the funding deficit and plan the July stimulus, which will be announced later today. Rates account for approximately 30% of local authorities' income on average. Goods and services account for in the region of 28% of their income, a sum of €1.5 billion nationally. We have been very clear that the July stimulus package must be of the appropriate scale and must reach businesses in a timely fash…

I am a little perplexed by the Deputy's comments. I have been very clear that certainty will be provided by the Government later today. Our response will be of scale. I said very clearly in my initial reply that there will be no cuts to local authority staff or services. I made that absolutely crystal clear. I also made it very clear that the components of today's stimulus package aimed at local authorities will be of scale and will be timely. I have been absolutely clear that the Department is liaising with local …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 10 together. A range of measures to assist in meeting Ireland's housing needs by ensuring that our existing housing stock is used to the greatest extent possible were set out in pillar 5 of Rebuilding Ireland. An overarching action within that pillar was the commitment to develop a national vacant homes reuse strategy. This strategy was published by my Department in July 2018 and strives to provide a targeted, effective and co-ordinated approach to identifying and tackling vac…

It is very clear regarding vacant houses that a blend or suite of measures is needed to ensure that we bring housing back into use. In the pilot project that was undertaken by the Department in connection with six local authorities, they found a vacancy rate of around 2.9%. That required two inspections over a six-month period. At times this can be put across as though there is a huge amount of low-hanging fruit but sometimes we will find that vacant homes are in difficult locations in which demand is not as strong…

That is an area for which my Department does not have responsibility but I take the Deputy's point, which is very well made. It is an issue that has to be tackled. Myself and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, will raise that with the Department. The Deputy also alluded to that measure. There are a number of measures that need to be brought together as a blend to try to get housing stock back in use. No one wants vacant housing units. We will do all we can to ensure we achieve that. Both measures Deputy Naughten…

The local infrastructure housing activation fund was introduced by the previous Government. It is a key tool in the context of activating sites and is linked to the national planning framework, which is important in keeping our towns and villages vibrant. Sometimes the issue of vacant housing can be taken out of proportion. Looking at the vacant homes register, in Roscommon in the Deputy's constituency, 72 properties are listed. While I acknowledge that we want to work to secure those properties and make them the s…

I take on board the Deputy's concerns about Irish Water. I would be at pains to point out, however, that the Department has invested significant funding in a co-ordinated approach to try to unlock vacant properties. I refer to measures to deal with the ghost estates we were left with after the crash and the amount of money that was invested in unlocking unfinished estates. The latter ensured that houses were completed and are now the subject of secure tenancies. We have also encouraged and prepared vacant housing p…

I thank the Deputy for his kind words. The Programme for Government – Our Shared Future sets out a range of actions that relate to local authority funding, including a commitment to review how commercial rates will be treated for the remainder of 2020. The programme also commits to bringing forward legislation for the local property tax, LPT, on the basis of fairness and where most home owners will face no increase. It also states that those counties with a lower LPT base will be adjusted via an annual national equ…

Many measures can be used to measure the funding local authorities receive. On population size, this can be a crude instrument to determine what level of funding is delivered. As I said, the increase to Meath County Council since 2016 is very clear. Other avenues are available to, and are at the disposal of, the local authority to increase funding. One key issue is if the local authority takes a decision to vary its local property tax rate. If Meath County Council had raised the local property tax rate by 15% over …

With regard to the local property tax, it is incorrect and not factual to say that all other grants were removed from local authorities. Record streams of funding are now available to local authorities through urban and rural regeneration funds and various grants, including equalisation funds for local authorities that are short. By raising the property tax in County Longford, the council got access to multimillion euro funding. One has to examine the responsibility of councillors. With regard to Meath County Counc…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which I understand is a source of concern for a number of her constituents. At the outset, I should highlight that the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, as environmental regulator, is responsible for setting quality standards and enforcing compliance with EU directives and national regulations for drinking water supplies and wastewater discharges to water bodies. Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, …

As I stated in my opening remarks, Irish Water's primary function is to provide clean safe drinking water to customers and to treat, collect and return wastewater safely to the environment. In providing these critical services Irish Water plays a role enabling social and economic growth. It faces a great challenge because more than 1 billion litres of wastewater from homes and businesses are collected every day in Ireland's public sewers and treated in 1,100 different treatment plants across our system. As I pointe…

Irish Water is fully independent in its legislative basis. It has a budget from the State through the capital investment -----

It is independent so it has its own CEO and independent board. It is independent of the State.