Mr. R?n?n Hession:

The Chair raised a number of points. I will go through my notes and if I have missed anything, please remind me.

On the question about the housing disregard and whether it applies elsewhere, it applies across the system but only in respect of maintenance. It is only an offset against maintenance, not against employment income.

If lone parents have income from maintenance, they can apply the housing disregard. If they are also working, the €165 will be offset. I do not know when that €165 was last changed. I think it has been in place for some time. We have in recent budgets adjusted the working family payment. Approximately 45,000 people avail of the working family payment and approximately half of them are lone parents. The working family payment is the one that tends to move in line with changes in the national minimum wage.