Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My mistake. We dealt with No. 1407B on CCTV. Next is No. 1408B from Mr. John McCarthy, providing a response on the number of statutory inspections of rented accommodation supported by the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme. The Secretary General states that the Department is working to identify a streamlined process. I will not read the note any further. The Department is in breach of its statutory duties. A housing authority must either have inspected and been satisfied that the property meets the rental accommodation standards within 12 months prior to the HAP application or have arranged to inspect the property within eight months of HAP commencing. The Department and the local authorities under it are in breach of their statutory duties in this regard. I am not interested in what plans, processes and arrangements are to be put in place. According to the letter, the Department is targeting a 25% inspection rate, but I see nothing in the letter explaining why it can ignore the other 75%. We discussed this matter as part of our periodic report, which we will revisit next week. The function of these bodies is to implement the law, not to cherry-pick and inspect on a sample basis. I am rejecting what is in front of us as unsatisfactory. These bodies should comply with the law.