asked the Minister for the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that many landlords of private flats are refusing to rent their property to prospective tenants with young children; if he will take any action to ensure that this form of discrimination against vulnerable families and young children in need of housing will be prevented; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Private Sector Rented Accommodation.
60.
Tenancies in the private rented sector are a matter for arrangement between the landlord and the prospective tenant, subject to the provisions in landlord and tenant law which are in general the responsibility of the Minister for Justice. It is my view that undue interference or stringent regulatory measures discourage the provision of accommodation for renting and lead to an imbalance between the supply and demand which is not in the best interests of persons seeking private rented accommodation. The Government's approach has been to encourage the creation of conditions which are favourable to private investment in the provision of rented accommodation including tax incentives as a means of increasing the supply of such accommodation.
I am sure you will be glad to hear I am not going down the argumentative road of engaging the Minister——
I am very grateful to the Deputy.
Would the Minister not recognise two things: first, there is a problem in the urban areas and second, he has within his specific power the right to ensure that any landlord or developer who benefits from any form of tax allowance or other type of fiscal benefit from the State by way of grant should be prohibited from introducing discriminatory renting practices of the kind I have mentioned in return for receiving such allowances?
For a start, I do not share the Deputy's view of the free market.
That is evident.
No complaints of incidents such as those referred to by the Deputy have been received. I do not know the basis for his question, except may be that the Deputy is trying to tease out something about which he wanted to get an opinion, because as far as we are concerned it is not supported by complaints of incidents referred to by the Deputy.
Tenancy agreements are private contracts between landlords and tenants and landlords have some discretion in the letting of their properties. What we are trying to do is increase the investment from the private sector to make such tenancies available, and we did that with the section 23 type of arrangement, trying to draw in more money to provide the accommodation necessary to deal with what is a growing demand.
In relation to the Minister's first comment, I would refer him to Threshold who would give him chapter and verse on the widespread discriminatory practices to which my question refers. Would he not recognise that if it is proper for a local authority to interfere in the market supply of properties by specifying certain standards of accommodation, it is equally proper for the Minister for the Environment to interfere in the market supply to protect the rights of citizens who have children and cannot afford to get a mortgage on their own?
Since the Deputy referred to the publication of Threshold he should have paid more attention to what it said. It raised other concerns but it did not make any reference to the subject matter of the Deputy's question.
We must move along now.
I ask for permission to raise on the Adjournment the lack of action by the Minister for Justice to provide adequate gardaí for the eastern area of County Meath.
The Ceann Comhairle's office will communicate with Deputy Farrelly.