“The key focus in any financial legislation must be on jobs. Fine Gael has expressed concern about the lack of competitiveness in the Irish economy and the fact that high commercial rents are leading to the closure of many businesses. Ministerial intervention is needed immediately to protect existing jobs.

“The Labour Party Bill is welcome but it represents a short-term solution. What Fine Gael wants however, is the introduction of new measures that would allow businesses to apply to court for rent reviews in exceptional circumstances. I believe that this would afford greater protection to businesses and greatly improve the prospects of people staying in employment.

“It is critical that dialogue between landlords and tenants be facilitated. Many landlords have already engaged with their commercial tenants. They recognised the writing on the wall and reduced rents to reflect changed times. However, I understand that tenants have had particular difficulties with large commercial landlords and I believe that Government intervention is needed in this context.

“The Justice Minister is in a unique position in that he can call people into Government buildings and facilitate the resolution of disputes. Unfortunately, this Government has been slow to make use of its potential to mediate as we have seen again and again with the likes of Ryanair for example.

“What is certain is that the festering sore of upward only rents does not represent an irresolvable problem and that if Minister Ahern is willing to roll his sleeves up and get involved, a solution can be achieved that can benefit all parties. I hope that is what he will now decide to do as well as taking on board Fine Gael’s policies in this area.

“The problem of unsustainable rents is not confined to Dublin, it is felt in cities and towns right around the country, including in my own local town of Portlaoise. No business is immune from the current economic meltdown and those trapped in commercial leases paying exorbitant rents are in a particularly difficult situation, struggling for their very survival.

“Last year Fine Gael supported s. 132 of the Land and Conveyancing (Law Reform) Act, 2009 as it reflected our policy to abolish upward only rents. At the time, Minister Ahern suggested that s. 132 could not apply to existing leases, however, that view has been disputed by Professor David Gwynn Morgan who has argued that in recent decades several laws have been introduced that modified existing landlord and tenant leases. So, the matter may not be as black and white as the Minister has suggested.

“The reality is that commercial leaseholders are the victims of a rare approach to commercial leases that Ireland adopted from the UK. It is time we recognised our place in Europe by adopting international best practice in landlord and tenant law. Within the EU, commercial rents are linked to inflation and leases tend to be for shorter terms and contain break clauses. The law is fairer and more reflective of the realities of commercial life. Such a progressive approach is long overdue in Ireland and I am calling on Minister Ahern to consider introducing a new bill which would consolidate existing landlord and tenant legislation as well as modernising this area of law.

“The Land and Conveyancing (Law Reform) Act 2009 was only a first step in overhauling this area of law. That Bill arose from a seminal report by the Law Reform Commission in 2005 and I believe the LRC should now be asked by the Attorney General to prioritise a report on consolidating and modernising landlord and tenant law.”

Ends