There is an unintended consequence of one of the State's welcome actions to accommodate refugees fleeing war-torn Ukraine. I refer specifically to the tax-free payment of €800 to landlords. The issue is that houses which ordinarily may come to the open rental market, particularly in parts of the country not like Dublin, where rents are especially high, are exclusively being devoted for rental under the Government's tax-free refugee scheme. Given the extraordinary shortage in rental properties and the exponential increase in eviction notices, and in order to address in some way the discriminatory situation this has created, will the Government introduce a tax-free allowance of €800 per month for all residential rental income so that Irish citizens, too, can have the opportunity to secure a home to rent?

I thank the Deputy for the question. He raises a valid concern. I would respond in two ways. One is that, while you can receive €800 a month for taking in somebody from Ukraine, you cannot charge them, say, €1,000 and get €800 tax free, so that has to be borne in mind when we talk about these things. It is €800 tax free but you cannot charge anything at all, let alone any more than €800, which would not be the case, obviously, for a private landlord.

The whole issue of how small landlords, in particular, are taxed is a live issue. We have given a commitment as a Government to this House and publicly that there will be tax measures for small landlords in the budget, but the Minister for Finance is keen to get that right and to look at in the round, in the context of a wider tax package, and we will be able to put those proposals before the House in October.