We heard today the testimony of 76-year-old Liz, who was supported by Threshold when she was handed a notice of termination. She stated: "Every hour I’d be wondering ... whether I’d be locked out. I’m too old and too sick for the streets." This is just one story out of more than 12,000 households that accessed Threshold’s services in 2022, as we saw from its annual report, which was launched this morning. Threshold saw a 12% increase in just one year. This shows just how weak renters’ rights and protections are. As the Government has not passed laws to protect tenants, the situation is getting worse. At 1 p.m., the Irish Council for International Students, the Union of Students in Ireland, USI, and Threshold will brief Members in the audiovisual room on a new survey on the harrowing experiences of international students who are renting in Ireland. The report tells a sorry tale of poor conditions, including dampness and overcrowding, and exorbitant rents, with 5% of respondents being asked for sex for rent. Will the Government pass the Labour Party’s renters’ rights Bill, which we introduced two years ago and would see greater protections for renters?

First of all, I want to acknowledge the really excellent work that Threshold does. It receives significant Government funding and, as a consequence of that, is able to do a lot of its work. As it often points out, very many notices to quit, far from being eviction notices as the Deputy claims, are invalid. It is really important that people seek advice from bodies like Threshold if they receive a notice to quit and do not have anywhere else to go.

We have passed lots of legislation in this House in the past ten years to improve the rights of renters, including tenancies of indefinite duration, the rent tax credit, rent pressure zones, under which most rents have seen increases of between 2% and 4% per year for the past seven years, and longer notice-to-quit periods. We continue to have this situation under review. A rent review is being done at the moment. That may result in further legislation and protections for renters. However, we always need to bear in mind supply because we need to make sure there are more properties available.