Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that there is a regulator in place. From the point of view of value for public money, the reason we have social housing is to meet the social housing need for those who cannot provide a house. The group I am talking about is elderly people – the most vulnerable – and some of them have special needs. Yet, we find ourselves in this situation. The concern is that if this starts happening across the State, what power does the State have? Is the State completely rudderless? Are the hands of the Government, the Department, the Housing Agency and the regulator tied behind their backs and all we can do is stand on the sidelines, look at it and say “Is this not terrible?”