Almost eleven months after the publication of the commission report on private rented accommodation, Junior Minister Bobby Molloy interruped his visit to the Big Apple this week to reassure investors and tenants that he is "committed" to looking after their interests. Legislation is being drafted to set up a Private Residential Tenancies Board to ensure security of tenure for tenants and to handle disputes between investors and tenants. The move suggests that a general election cannot be too far off. Although the commission recommended a whole range of excellent measures to bring more professionalism into the rental market, the Government opted to cherrypick and run with the recommendations that would appeal primarily to tenants. The most important change will give them the statutory right to renew leases for up to four years where they have been renting for at least six months. For the landlords, the advantage is that they can refer disputes and eviction notices to the board rather than have to contend with delays of up to 12 months to get into court. However, the government has no intention at this stage of adopting a key recommendation that would increase the supply of badly needed rental accommodation in Dublin. The commission report urged that investors should be treated for tax purposes in the same way as any other business. The Government didn't buy it because of fears that it would bring investors back into the housing market at a time when there are still so many first time buyers looking for a home. Meanwhile the supply of rental properties is Dublin city is continuing to decline and rents are going through the roof. The bottom line is that young people anxious to buy their first home have become locked into the rental market and find it impossible to save a deposit for even a one-bed apartment. For Mr Molloy the question is whether the investors will bother to play a role on the new board when it is set up on an ad hoc basis next Autumn. There have been suggestions that they won't. However, the junior minister can rely on the support (whatever that means) of the auctioneers professional bodies. But that hardly means much given that the real people who count are the investors themselves.