Brendan Ryan (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Jordan for his presentation but also for his more substantial document which will be very useful to us in our considerations. Under the section on reforming the rent supplement scheme, Mr. Jordan has come up with a number of recommendations on administration which seem to be no-brainers in terms of implementing change. They are essential and clear in the main with the exception of Mr. Jordan's final point, on which I ask him to elaborate. The recommendation is to introduce clear guidance for Department of Social Protection representatives who deal with circumstances where receivers are appointed to properties with rent supplement tenants. Mr. Jordan might expand on that.

Certainly in my experience the tenancy protection service is working well. Community welfare officers, outside the tenancy protection scheme, are applying flexibility too. Threshold recommended that the tenancy protection service be extended nationwide. To what extent is there a lack of consistency across the country in applying the flexibility the community welfare officers have?

On increasing rent supplement limits to reflect market rents, Threshold has indicated they should be more targeted, related to local sub-markets, tailored to individual circumstances and less visible to the market. From this, it seems Threshold is not arguing for an across the board increase in rent supplement. What is the methodology for achieving the best outcomes and best use of resources?