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

I am trying to imagine a situation where somebody is a tenant. I completely acknowledge that €1,200 per month is very significantly less than €2,000 per month, but my understanding of cost rental is it would be a mix of people, including individuals on the housing lists. If it is going to include both, it would require quite a bit of subsidy from the public side, probably through the housing assistance payment, HAP. I question whether, if people had a real choice, they would take on a 25-year-long lease at €1,200 per month. When they end up as a pensioner, where do they go from there? There is some thinking out to be done on this with regard to value for money. It is more from the policy aspect rather than the point of view of the Committee of Public Accounts. I am not at all sure this aspect has been considered. The particular housing association has done as well as it could do, but it shows how expensive housing will be and how precarious it will be later on for people when they get to pension age. This is more of a policy area and probably for the housing committee to consider.