Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)

One could also counter the argument about estate management costs. There is a cost to concentrating low-income housing in one area and that is often an additional cost to the State. Mixed tenure or mixed income are far better principles to apply.

I am surprised that the Department of public expenditure is not telling the Department of housing that the latter should be progressing the tenant in situ scheme. In fact, we should be trying to procure as many properties as possible because it reduces the State's expenditure and the State gains an asset. In other areas of public facilities, we would be actively looking for opportunities to purchase properties, but not in this area. I accept Mr. Moloney's Department is not responsible for housing policy. From a value-for-public money perspective, the continuation of HAP and the failure to seek or roll out opportunities offered by the tenant in situ scheme appear to be bad value for money and bad management of public money.