The Cabinet is expected to approve controversial rent reform legislation this morning, paving the way for significant changes to the rules governing rents and tenancies.
The Minister for Housing James Browne has argued the legislation will protect tenants by ending most no-fault evictions and mandating longer tenancies. However, opponents have argued the legislation will mean higher rents for most tenants as landlords can reset rents between tenancies.
There were clashes in the Dáil last week when Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin said the anticipated legislation would lead to more tenants paying “rip-off rents” while Mr Browne insisted the changes would increase the supply of rental properties, which he said was the only action that would bring rents down.
Government sources say the Bill – which the Opposition has vowed to fight “tooth and nail” – will be pushed through the Oireachtas before the March 1st deadline. It is expected that guillotines are likely to be used, where the Government uses its majority to truncate debate on a iBill and votes it though, usually without amendments.
READ MORE
The legislation is likely to be published this week, kicking off a fierce political battle on the issue over the coming weeks.
Also at Cabinet this morning, Minister for Energy Darragh O’Brien will seek approval for a new scheme of grants for replacement windows and doors to improve the energy efficiency of homes.
Homeowners will be offered grants of up to €5,600 to retrofit windows and doors as part of a State scheme to encourage the wider installation of heat pumps in Irish homes.
Grants for windows and doors were previously only available for homes undergoing deep retrofits, which cost tens of thousands of euro.
[ New grant will offer Ireland’s homeowners €5,600 to retrofit windows and doorsOpens in new window ]
Elsewhere, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll-MacNeill will bring a number of items to the Cabinet this morning. She will brief Ministers on a new Waiting Time Action Plan, which sets out a range of new targets to reduce waiting time for treatments.
The move comes after recent figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund which showed the numbers of those on waiting lists increased last year – though by some measures the waiting times for treatments have continued to fall in recent years.
Ms Carroll-MacNeill will also brief colleagues on the continued increase in the numberof patients attending hospital emergency departments, which reached 1,621,000 last year – and increase of nearly 200 per day over the previous year.
Waiting times in emergency departments were significantly reduced, she will tell Ministers, reflecting higher staffing and changed rosters.
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon will update Cabinet colleagues on the bluetongue outbreak and give a briefing on the start of negotiations on a new Common Agricultural Policy.
