Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that new rental limits will be announced in June. I hope that people see sense, particularly in my area. I presume the overall rent supplement budget or envelope within the Department cannot be breached if new rental limits are accepted. If the cap goes up in one area, does it go down in another area? How will the new rental limits be estimated within the Department or is it done solely on the cost of property?

The following issue with rent supplement has arisen a number of times and in most cases the community welfare officer has been willing to budge. It applies to single men, in particular, who have overnight access or weekend access to their children but cannot get rent allowance for a property bigger than a single bedsit. Is there a directive in respect of single men with court order access to their children?

My other issue relates to the fact that there are not as many single-bedroom properties available in the city. I presume the situation is the same in rural Ireland. Sometimes, the only available property in an area is a two-bedroom one. In such a case, does a community welfare officer have discretion to allow a person to move into that property, which is normally capped for people with children?