Results 261-280 of 1,031,967 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Brian O'Shea OR speaker:Joan Collins OR speaker:Alan Dillon OR speaker:Martin Heydon)

Inquiry into the death of Shane O'Farrell: Motion [Private Members] (9 Jul 2024)

Inquiry into the death of Shane O'Farrell: Motion [Private Members] (9 Jul 2024)

James O'Connor: I recognise this is a very difficult matter and some family members are in the Gallery. They are very welcome to Dáil Éireann today.

Inquiry into the death of Shane O'Farrell: Motion [Private Members] (9 Jul 2024)

Matt Carthy: I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — on 2nd August, 2011, Shane O'Farrell was killed while cycling home, when he was struck by a car driven by Zigimantas Gridziuska; — previously, Zigimantas Gridziuska came into Ireland with twelve convictions from Lithuania; — in August 2009, Zigimantas Gridziuska was granted bail in respect of a theft charge, and...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

Malcolm Noonan: Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí go léir. I thank all the Deputies. I will try to skim over some of the issues raised before I go to the closing speech. Deputy Bacik made a point as I came into the Chamber about the Labour Party's Bill. A number of aspects of the Bill have been addressed, including the model tenancy agreement, the non-registration of tenancies, tenancies...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

Catherine Connolly: Cuirim fáilte mhór roimh an mBille seo. Níl i gceist leis ach Bille gearr le sé mhír. Tá sé níos lú ná seacht leathanach. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire agus an Roinn as ucht a gcuid oibre. Is Bille dearfach é. Tá sé beagáinín maol ach cuirim fáilte roimhe. Is bun agus barr an scéil é nach...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

Thomas Pringle: I am thankful for the opportunity to speak on this Bill. The attempt by the private student accommodation providers, Aparto and Yugo, to force all incoming students starting in September 2024 into 51-week tenancies is a blatant money grab. They have attempted to dress this up as a way of accommodating postgraduate and medical students, but if they truly had the best interests of the...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

Marian Harkin: First, I welcome this legislation. It tackles a specific and important issue in regard to student accommodation. This is the requirement that students must be able to rent their accommodation for 41 weeks of the year whereas previously many students had to rent it for 51 weeks of every year. This was an extortionate practice by those accommodation providers who were trying to extract the...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

Mattie McGrath: What of the EPA?

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

Michael Collins: The EPA does not care. Nobody cares. It is all brushed under the carpet: say nothing, just block off the play area, nobody runs around there and no children are allowed to because there is sewage all over the ground. It is going into the aquifer. No one is accountable. The senior Minister comes down and then goes back up to Dublin. He will not sit down with Irish Water - or Uisce...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

Danny Healy-Rae: I am glad to get the opportunity to talk about the very important matter of accommodation for college students. Kerry students have a serious difficulties at different times in getting accommodation in places like Limerick and Cork. The Minister of State will appreciate that Limerick is a savage distance from some parts of Kerry. It takes two hours to get from Killarney to Limerick, but...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

Michael Healy-Rae: I thank the Minister of State. I first must declare an interest in terms of the provision of student accommodation. We have to make sure that we are talking in a like-minded manner about this issue. With regard to purpose-built student accommodation, there should be no problem in the world with the people who own those properties and especially if they are managed and if they are very near...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

Richard O'Donoghue: I spoke in the Chamber last week. The Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, was present. We discussed student accommodation and the fact that people have to rent properties for more than 12 months. The Minister of State said that there would be legislation in this regard. However, the legislation before us relates to student accommodation, not private dwellings. My son goes to...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

Mattie McGrath: The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024 aims to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, specifically in relation to SSA tenancy licences. The Bill stipulates that student accommodation will adhere to the traditional September to May academic year, up to 41 weeks, unless a student requests a longer tenancy. It is all about "mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí". We must...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

Michael Collins: Student accommodation is a difficult situation for people in my constituency in Cork who are trying to go to college, or people anywhere. Many people come to my office to see if we can source accommodation for them. It is desperate after spending so many years going through college that they cannot find accommodation. Some people are couch surfing and sleeping in cars. It is a terrible...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

Martin Browne: Movement is definitely needed on facilitating the needs of students who are facing sky-high rents. Addressing the situation whereby students find themselves having to sign a contract that would lock them into paying for potentially unused accommodation for the summer months has been required for some time. Specifically, this Bill stipulates that specific student accommodation contracts...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

Seán Canney: I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill, and it needs to be implemented as quickly as possible. Education is fundamental to the future of our country. Students going to college should have a good experience, and that includes safe and good accommodation at a reasonable price. This has not been the case in many instances in the past. Now we have a situation where some landlords and...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The Bill is welcome in that it addresses the scandalous problem of student accommodation providers charging for 51 weeks when the students' term is only 41 weeks. It is positive that will be prevented and that students cannot be required to pay more than a month's rent and deposit in advance, other than their fees, if they happen to be paying their fees, to the provider. Those are welcome...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

Ruairi Ó Murchú: We very much welcome this Bill. This issue was put on the agenda because of the very significant amount of work done by Sinn Féin and Deputy Mairéad Farrell. It has been brought up for a considerable amount of time. It was first a matter of identifying the number of these places owned by vulture funds and the average rents charged. There was then the question of 51-week leases,...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Bill. I also commend my colleague and our higher education spokesperson, Mairéad Farrell, on her work in this area and on, in my view, putting this issue on the political agenda in the first place by identifying the total amount of vulture fund-owned PBSA, identifying the average rent charged and identifying where 51-week leases were being demanded, but also by identifying...

Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024: Second Stage (9 Jul 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I also welcome the Bill, which the Social Democrats will support. The issue of the Bill is very much tied into what has been happening around students' accommodation needs. This example has been highlighted very well by Deputy Mairéad Farrell but it is one of many examples of exploitation of students when it comes to housing. Perhaps it is not intentional, explicit or anything like...