CEANN COMHAIRLE SEAN Ó Fearghaíl was forced to break a tie in a Dáil vote after opposition TDs proposed a bill that seeks to provide more protection to tenants.

The Dáil was tied 51-51 on the Anti-Evictions Bill 2016 which was proposed by AAA-PBP deputies.

The government opposed the Bill and Fianna Fáil abstained during the vote.

After a walk through was required due to the to the closeness of the vote, the final numbers tallied at 51-51 meaning that the Ceann Comhairle had to make a casting vote.

Ó Fearghaíl voted with the government in following a long-standing precedent the the Ceann Comhairle sides with the government in the case of a tie.

This is despite the fact that Ó Fearghaíl was elected as a Fianna Fáil member and they abstained during the vote.

The bill itself seeks to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 in a number of ways.

Among them it would remove the sale of sale of property as a grounds for terminating a tenancy.

It would provide for compensation where a tenancy is terminated on the ground that the dwelling is required by the landlord or a relative of the landlord for their own occupation.

It would also extend the notice periods for new rents and for the termination of tenancies.

Read: What exactly happens when the new Dáil sits on Thursday? >

Read: An Taoiseach went on CNBC from Davos and said there’s no chance of an Irish election in 2017 >