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

That is fine, I will get it. I agree with many of those points. I mentioned earlier that we have a great deal of vacant properties, particularly in rural areas, which we should be looking at. Not only is it good for an area to have these places regenerated and people living in them - it breathes a bit of life back into an area - but it can also provide some short-term solutions, because those properties are actually available. They just need to be brought up to standard.

I would be interested in the witnesses' opinions on the whole issue of rent allowance, the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme and the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, because my experience - I am sure many people have the same experience - is that many auctioneers do not necessarily welcome these schemes. For example, in our area, one would know auctioneers who are particularly helpful in respect of sourcing properties and so on and there are others who do not want to look at it. There does seem to be some stigma attached to that. What are the views of the witnesses is on that. Many landlords, although they are technically not supposed to be able to refuse rent allowance, are able to get away with it.