Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While I appreciate that, the majority of the 49,000 tenants availing of the housing assistance payment, HAP, want a permanent solution and do not want to live in private rented accommodation. I agree that a percentage of them want to live in a private rented accommodation. While HAP is a necessary scheme, it involves spending a large amount on a short-term solution to a long-term problem. Perhaps the pendulum will start to swing back at some point after 2021 and the HAP will not be required to the same extent as it is now.