Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I wish to ask the witnesses about standards and inspections, which we touched on earlier. Where a new private property enters into the local authority under HAP, the local authority will inspect that property before taking it on, but for properties that have been in the system for quite some time, the inspection rate is probably not as rigorous. Is that why we see residents’ dwellings falling into disrepair? Are there enough resources put into that aspect to ensure dwellings that have been long-term in the system under HAP or the local authority payments are being maintained properly? It probably also feeds into the earlier question on where a relative being moved in is a cause for eviction. Are there the resources in place to check that the person who has moved in is a relative? How often is that done? Are there enough resources at local authority level to manage those two aspects?