Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for interrupting but the circular is clear. It sets out the criteria against which a local authority can purchase. It means that if a local authority has a property with a HAP or a RAS tenant, where previously it would purchase the property to prevent the family from becoming homeless when a vacant possession notice to quit had issued, this circular prevents that from happening. While that had previously been prevented from happening by an earlier decision, the circular that issued last week will not allow a director of housing or of homelessness services to proceed with an acquisition of such a property. It relates to various types of vacant property, including disability adapted. Given this practice was a crucial way for local authorities to prevent some levels of family homelessness, surely it should have been included as permissible in the circular.