Ms Eileen Gleeson:

We do not want the structure of those bands to impact when we are dealing with people who are homeless and need to "HAP" them into accommodation. There is surplus accommodation in those counties that we could access, were that possible.

To respond to a point Deputy O'Dowd made, there are people in Meath who could go into Cavan, for example, or vice versa, but the HAP, because of the way it is structured, is limiting them. That HAP structure needs to change and we are in talks with the Department about that.