Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister for Finance, Deputy Chambers. I wish the Minister the best. I thank the Ministers and their officials for being here today.

The percentage of people aged 65 and over living in rented accommodation has increased by 83% according to the 2022 census. In view of that, has the Government put any provisions in place to protect those over 65 and living in rental accommodation from unaffordable rent levels when they move onto fixed incomes upon retirement and where their incomes may exceed social housing thresholds but fall significantly short of affording huge and expensive private rents? In the closing part of the Minister's statement he mentioned providing increased resources for core public services and investing in a higher quality of life in Ireland for people into the future. I do not see a light at the end of the tunnel for these people who are not going to be able to get out of that. Will the Minister elaborate on this, please?