Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the fact that the Minister of State is not opposing this legislation, albeit I would have to say the some of the speeches have been decidedly lukewarm. I sensed that much of what the Minister of State - he has said many things - has said is about striking the balance and I actually agree. The balance does need to be struck and I do not think that anyone on this side of the House would disagree with that. It is very clear that any type of regulation would need to be very particular and tailored. That cannot be, however, an excuse to do nothing.

I do not have a problem particularly in a housing crisis and in a student accommodation crisis that one tries to use whatever capacity exists. If that includes digs, where that works and where it is decent and secure, then that makes absolute sense. I do not have a problem with the Government incentivising that by way of removing barriers at the very least with regard to the medical cards and some of the other things which have been changed such as the GP visit cards, and the assessments recently.

The Government is providing tax relief of up to €14,000 for rooms which are provided under the rent-a-room scheme and I do not think it is reasonable to provide that level of support without expecting something in return. One of the things which struck me most from the USI report is the fact that 66% of respondents to that survey had a written agreement already. In 68% of those cases, the homeowners themselves had suggested putting one in place as they would benefit from the knowledge that they are standing on secure ground.

I know that there are many arrangements out there that are good, that decent people are providing accommodation to students who need it, the relationship there is very good and they are very decent people. We cannot rely on that, however, to protect the vulnerable students and those students who are being abused or are mistreated in any way. Nobody would want to see anyone belonging to them in a situation where they are told that somebody has to be out like that, overnight. Nobody would want to see, particularly women, in a situation where they feel unsafe, vulnerable, or whether their access to toilets, showers or anything like that is restricted. If there is a problem there, it needs to be addressed in a sensible, balanced way, which we agree with. I say to the Minister of State, however,that that should not be any reason not to proceed and to address it because there is an issue there and that is borne out very clearly from the USI survey.

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