Residential tenancies legislation
Deputy Boyd Barrett asked about promised legislation on residential tenancies and loopholes used to evict tenants. The Minister said the Bill was not on the priority list because it had been published in the previous term and Second Stage would be taken shortly.
In the debate on the Solidarity-People Before Profit Anti-Evictions Bill 2018 just before Christmas, which the Government unfortunately opposed but which fortunately was passed by a majority in the Dáil, to address part of the reason for the current homelessness crisis, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, promised that there would be legislation dealing with residential tenancies that would come in immediately in the new year. He said it would deal with some aspects of the loopholes that allow landlords to mistreat tenants and to evict them. I mentioned a woman called Elaine who yesterday received 20 anonymous texts that were clearly linked to her landlord trying to bully her and her four children out of her house. She is still in that situation. The Minister said legislation would be introduced in January to deal with and improve the lot of tenants in such situations. The Bill is not on the priority list or the legislative programme. Where is it?
Comment on this
The Bill is not on the priority list because it was published in the previous term. Second Stage will be taken, if not next week then the week after.