Mr. Mike Allen:

The Deputy has referred to our submission but I know the other witnesses will wish to speak about it also. We welcome the initiative, which Threshold immediately operates and on which Simon and Focus Ireland co-operate. Anything being done to try to stem the tide is welcome. Systemically, rent supplement levels are just not high enough for families and others, particularly in Dublin but also in other cities and towns. It is like a boat has sunk and everybody is drowning but we are asking them one by one whether they are all right. We know they are not all right because they are all drowning. We need a system to lift rent supplements overall. This is not to attack the system, which is an attempt to do something useful, but to recognise its limitations. It is a systemic problem and we all agree and have stated there needs to be an increase in rent supplement. Community welfare officers have discretion to vary it and it is regrettable that additional protocols need to be put in place to achieve this end. However, sometimes one needs to do things which are regrettable if one wants to prevent people from becoming homeless.

With regard to young people on the half rate, I cannot provide exact figures because it is difficult to keep track of it, but since it was first introduced all of the homeless services throughout the country began to see young people. Young people who grew up in care are protected and get the full rate if they are unemployed. The policy relies on the notion that if one gets into trouble one can return to someone in the family. The small number of young people who do not have a care background but do not have a home to return to are locked into homeless accommodation. There needs to be a system or protocol whereby community welfare officers link to the homeless service to help people get a higher income, move out of homelessness and be supported into a home. We have been speaking to the Department of Social Protection about this for more than two years and I am very frustrated about the failure to get a response.