Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for having to leave earlier. We do not do the bilocation very well here. I apologise if I have missed something where Mr. McKeon has given an answer.

I note the point about some of the online payments and the need for an identifier. I will come back to the public services card after I have asked a few other questions. I acknowledge that some of the payments made online, such as maternity benefit, are very efficient. We should acknowledge that some things are working very well.

I refer to the exceptional and urgent needs payments. The majority of those would consist of the housing assistance payment, HAP. We all meet people who require such payments, as they have emergencies and so on. They are an essential safety net. Can the witnesses provide an analysis of the payments made under the housing subhead? I ask for some headline points on that.