The Government has guillotined its Residential Tenancies Bill so that it will pass all stages in the Dáil today. This means that the Bill, which will enable landlords to impose big rent increases on hundreds of thousands of tenants, will be pushed through the Dáil with little scrutiny and many opposition amendments will fall without being discussed.
People Before Profit's Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett said:
“The Residential Tenancies Bill will result in dramatic rent increases on top of the already unaffordable rents faced by tenants. As landlords are enabled to drive rents even higher we’ll see more people, more families with children, evicted into homelessness.
“Despite the serious and far-reaching implications of the Bill, the Government has guillotined it to prevent proper oversight or scrutiny of the planned legislation. It is clear to everyone now that the Government is dancing to the tune of speculators and corporate landlords who are profiteering from the housing crisis and the misery it causes for so many. If only the Government would serve the interests of ordinary people with the same unwavering determination.
“The fact that the government is ramming through the Residential Tenancies Bill at breakneck speed shows that they don’t want the public to know what they are up to. But People Before Profit will not allow this to go unchallenged.
“We have called an emergency protest at Leinster House on Kildare Street at 5.30pm this evening, Wednesday, to sound the alarm about what the government is up to. We urge people to join the protest and let the Government know that its slavish devotion to the interests of speculators and corporate landlords will be resisted”.