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

My question was not related to furniture. What is often said to people who are living in very overcrowded family circumstances or in emergency accommodation by the community welfare officers is that they should have been in a position to save. They might not be responsible for the furniture in the house but obviously if people are in emergency accommodation, they will have had a lot of extra expenses for a long time. There is also a cost incurred when they are moving and they are not getting any assistance at all. I know there is no responsibility on the part of the tenant or the community welfare officer to pay for furniture under the RAS or HAP scheme but it is important to acknowledge and recognise that those people will have many additional expenses in moving. There does not seem to be any flexibility around that. Telling people that they should have been in a position to save is not good enough.