Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I asked about the hub and the B&Bs and the Minister said families in hubs would be housed more quickly than those in hotels or B&Bs. That is a concern. The Minister said the quicker timeframe applies to those residing in a family hub rather than a hotel or a B&B. In my area we are lucky because for hotels and B&Bs it is not a massive issue. I am bringing this report to my local authority tomorrow because the Minister is telling us that there is funding available. I have seen cases recently of people in houses which were available at a good price that local authorities could have bought but they did not have the funding. There is a lot of confusion. I believe the figures are totally wrong. I say that from my experience of dealing with people every day. The HAP works in certain areas but not in others. Is there any way the Minister can do something on the 20% discretion?

All the local authorities now have 20% discretion for people on HAP but it is not half enough. Given that there is a housing crisis and people are not in rent pressure zones is there any way the Minister can consider being a little more lenient than 20%? It is not enough.

I realise everybody wishes to go home but there are major issues-----