asked the Minister for Justice if as a matter of urgency he will introduce amending legislation to prevent exorbitant rents being charged for furnished and unfurnished accommodation.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Accommodation Charges.
50.
The scope of rent control was dealt with by the House as recently as two years ago, during the debates on the Bill of the 1967 Rent Act. No extension of rent control is contemplated at the present time.
Would the Minister in view of the fact that many of these tenants have often been exploited in a most rapacious manner, not consider it a matter of the utmost urgency to introduce such reform, examples of which are readily available in the legislation of any progressive European State, particularly in view of the statement issued by the Taoiseach that we have got the most progressive social legislation of any regime in Europe?
To extend this to such tenants as have suffered loss would almost certainly lead to a serious curtailment of such lettings. As I said, this was considered by the House as recently as two years ago and no amendment was put down by anybody to suggest that control should be extended to those flats, which are mainly in pre1941 houses.