Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On the issue of contacting MABS, I have sent many people who have fallen behind with rent payments to MABS to seek help. It has often happened that two or three weeks have passed before someone has been able to meet with them. In different counties, MABS is under different pressures. This is where I am going with my question. Mr. Lemass mentioned that only seven tenants have been referred to MABS. I refer people to MABS on a weekly basis, and it could take two or three weeks for them to get a meeting, with the process in place. MABS does fantastic work, but the problem is that people are waiting two or three weeks at the moment to get a meeting, and more people will be using MABS under the protections provided in this legislation. It is going to put more pressure on MABS, particularly when it comes to getting the information back to tenants in the case of a dispute. Again, it comes back to the rental issue that we have here. What supports are available for MABS? I believe that there is going to be a bigger uptake in this regard as we go forward, because we have not got to the end what is happening at the moment. This legislation is going to open the floodgates and more people will be going to MABS. There is a lack of understanding on the part of tenants of where they can go for help and what they have to do. It will put more pressure on organisations such as MABS. I want to know what support is going to be there for the likes of MABS, to help both tenants and landlords so that this issue can be resolved.