Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are not too far off the figure of €1 billion. It is now the policy to put people into private rented accommodation. I was on Louth County Council back in 2013 and 2014 when that council was chosen to be one of the local authorities to implement the scheme on a pilot basis. Even at that time, it was obvious that the policy was to shove people into private rented accommodation and that they were then to be considered as having been dealt with. In earlier comments, it was stated that the Department had not reviewed the maximum rent payment since 2017 when rents have gone up by approximately 8% year-on-year since 2015. Why would the Department not review those payments?