Brendan Ryan (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On the new streamlined process referred to in terms of delivering social housing units of under 15 units or €2 million, can Mr. Cummins expand on that and tell us what that will deliver and what its potential is? What is the lead time on the public-private situation delivering 500 houses? Are there any more in the pipeline? In terms of the homeless units putting people in hotels and guest houses, is there any flexibility for people in that situation to find solutions for themselves? If somebody became homeless in Rush, for example, and there is a proposal to put them in a hotel up at the airport, it would be more satisfactory for those people if they could find something local.

Mr. Cummins outlined the legislative policy development in his paper which is a context for much of what he had to say. In terms of delivery of units, is there any legislative barrier that prevents him from delivering? Is there anything he would do tomorrow by way of legislation which would help him to do his job better? Mr. Brady would know Fingal of old. There used to be a scheme in place there where the local authority would provide sites to people and young couples who were anxious to build their own houses and could do so if they got a reasonable site. Is there any legislation required for that to be done or could it be rolled out?

Mr. Cummins commented on the Threshold community welfare officer and the flexibility around that in terms of increasing rent supplement or HAP to reflect market conditions. It is my experience in Fingal that it is working very much on a case-by-case basis. Many people and bodies I talk to on housing say that, generally, it is not working across Dublin. What is Mr. Cummins's sense of that? If it is working in some parts of Fingal, why is it not working elsewhere? I am not referring to areas where there might be a receiver, but in a normal situation? Given that it might be working on a case-by-case basis, is there justification for increasing the rent caps across the board?