Last week the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, upheld the right of a vulture fund to issue eviction orders to more than 20 households at Leeside Apartments in Cork in the middle of the largest housing crisis in the history of the State. Many of the households have children and are low-income. Many of the residents have had Leeside Apartments as their home for years. One of them, Aimee O’Riordan, the mother of a five-year-old son, was here to tell her story this morning. All of them - men, women and children - now face the prospect of being made homeless. They have nowhere else to go - all of this to maximise profits for a vulture fund.

The guidelines issued to the RTB before Christmas by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, failed to protect the Leeside Apartments residents, despite them offering to vacate their homes for a month to allow for renovations. The Minister has promised to bring in fresh legislation should his guidelines fail to protect residents in such cases. Will he comment on this case? Will he inform the House of his plans to bring in the legislation which he promised?

It is not the case that the guidelines failed to protect the residents in this instance. The fact of the matter is that an independent body, the RTB, found that substantial refurbishment was required and the measure was properly invoked in terms of the notice to quit the apartments themselves. In November last year, the board published detailed guidelines as to what "substantial refurbishment" means. It remains a requirement whereby landlords can serve a notice to quit if they want to make a substantial refurbishment necessary for their property. That said, we have recognised that some people have tried to use this as an excuse to evict tenants on spurious grounds, regardless of being appropriate. As a result of that, I will bring forward a second rent protection Bill this year with measures relating to substantial refurbishment to protect tenants who are being abused in such instances.

Sorry, a Cheann Comhairle-----

No. I am sorry but the Deputy does not get a second bite of the cherry.

Very briefly. I asked a question.

No. The Deputy will resume his seat.

I asked a question and I would like an answer.

The Deputy will resume his seat. He got his answer.

I answered the question clearly.