Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I forgot to mention with regard to the housing assistance payment, HAP, that there is an increase of €200 million in the current expenditure programme. I know we sometimes question the value of money put into HAP. Equally, we saw landlords jumping on the bandwagon because HAP will give them a greater monthly rental than they currently achieve. We all need a percentage of HAP but there is a huge over-reliance on HAP at the moment and it is just throwing good money after bad money. When will we see the pendulum swing away from HAP and towards more long-term delivery? It is a short-term measure where we need a long-term solution. It is just a loss of good money after bad money.