Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am conscious of time so I want to be brief. I thank Dr. Hayden for coming in. She clearly has a huge amount of experience. I am very conscious of her former involvement in the Private Residential Tenancies Board and her work there. She now works in Threshold and has had a long-standing relationship with that body. I have read the 22 recommendations in Dr. Hayden's pre-budget submission and I will take an opportunity later to talk to her about how she got on with that and how happy she is with it. That will become more obvious in time.

I will touch on one item under head 30 which was also referred to in Dr. Hayden's report. She talks about developing a protocol and about the obligations of the local authority. Obligations are one thing but there are also the issues of resources, a whole load of responsibilities, commitments and legislation and giving effect to that. Will Dr. Hayden tease out how we can give effect to that? In my local authority we use and recommend Threshold but some local authorities say they cannot advise or assist and tell people to go to Threshold. People come into a room once a week and it is all a bit vague. They tell people to make an appointment with Threshold. There is a disconnect between the good work of Threshold and other bodies that do similar work and the local authority. Dr. Hayden talked about a protocol being developed. It is a good one. How to give effect to that protocol in a way that is binding and clearly understood by all parties is something I would like to hear more about. Will Dr. Hayden tease out a little bit more what she envisages in respect of that proposal?