Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The frustrating thing about the rent caps is that they are far too low. Homelessness was traditionally a city problem, and when families are being left homeless in rural counties like Roscommon, something is seriously wrong. That is what I am dealing with at the moment. There are crisis situations for families trying to get accommodation in the first place.

To give one example, a young lady came to me last week who was being discharged from an acute psychiatric unit. No appointment had been made with the community welfare officer and there was very little engagement from the social worker appointed by the psychiatric service with the community welfare service. The social worker instructed the young woman to do a deal with the landlord and pay him €100 in cash under the table. The social worker did not realise that €100 is a waste of time as the current market rates are €250 over what she would be able to pay on the rent cap. Although it is welcome that flexibility is coming in to the system, the other agencies are not aware of it and it is not being brought to their attention, and even that flexibility is insufficient to secure accommodation. This young woman was advised that she needed to go to a rural area, yet she has to attend an acute psychiatric unit on a weekly basis. There is no public transport except in the urban areas, so she is going to be left to her own devices in a rural area, isolated, after coming out of an acute psychiatric unit. She will back in again as an admission. The system is failing her.

I can give numerous examples from County Roscommon, the most rural county in the country, in which there is more than sufficient housing stock as a whole. We have specific problems that are in some instances as bad as those in Dublin because of the inflexibility of the system. The rent caps are falling far short of the reality.