Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their attendance. At the outset, I must disagree completely with the statement that some people are content to stay on the list and to be in receipt of rent supplement. I represent a constituency that is both rural and urban in nature, comprising the two counties of Carlow and Kilkenny. In the seven years during which I have been a councillor, I have never met a single person who wished to remain on the list and was content to be in receipt of rent supplement. While many of my questions have been addressed, the point has been made that there are sufficient resources. I have a question about delays and do not refer simply to building social housing. While land is available in some areas, I also refer to a huge delay in buying social housing. It sometimes is taking six, seven or eight months when local authorities buy houses for people. What is the delay in this regard? I would have thought it was a staff resource issue because with the embargoes in recent years, staff have been stretched.

If the witness is saying that there are sufficient resources, however, then how does it take a local authority six to eight months to purchase a house? It may not be a house that needs work to be done on it because it is in perfect condition, so what is causing that delay?

I wonder what the witness sees as the obstacles to the mortgage-to-rent scheme. Many people would be perfect applicants for that scheme, yet they do not seem to qualify. The problem comes back to housing. It could be a standard three-bedroom house with a couple living there whose family have moved out. They are being told that they are over-accommodated so they do not qualify for the mortgage-to-rent scheme. Common sense is required for such matters.