Mr. John-Mark McCafferty:

The Senator is absolutely right. A thought I had during the previous conversation was that if we are not hearing about it, it is not an issue. It is doing its job. It is a strand of supply. I guess for whatever reasons, RAS is less of a thing than HAP.

I also want to respond to Deputy McAuliffe. The public procurement element is key. That is at the crux of the matter. Many individuals are trying to negotiate procurement on rents. In terms of tenancy protection, the service Threshold provides is our way across the stay of assisting tenants who are in arrears and disputes. We are not saying in any way that HAP should be disbanded. Rather we are saying let us review it. It has been a step change in how we put resources back in a tenant-landlord relationship to procure and access housing and have families remain in housing, even when a family's income is increasing, which removes some of the poverty traps.

We run a similar service to place finder in Cork through our access housing unit. It was very welcome to see place finder services rolled out in 2017. The challenge for them, like Housing First, is the supply of private rented accommodation and social rented accommodation. That is the crux of the issue. Thankfully, it is beginning to come on stream, but that is from a relatively low baseline. With the larger local authorities and the bigger approved housing bodies, we are seeing a level of volume, and that is to be welcomed. I very much think that some level of regional discretion should be considered.