Ms Helen Faughnan:

We do not have them. We are still in the process of working them out and checking the data. We would look at a county but would also go into detail because there are distortions with areas near a big urban centre or attached to a university or areas with a considerable amount of employment. That distorts the availability as well.

It is an income support payment. This was set up as a short-term measure so that we are the helping hand for somebody who has been renting and now finds himself or herself unemployed. We hope that person will get back into employment and be able to pay their own rent. Due to the recession, our short-term scheme has evolved into a longer-term scheme.

Senator Moloney also spoke about domestic violence. We offer specific care and attention to people who are suffering either domestic violence or intimidation, which, unfortunately, has become a feature of some housing areas. Where cases of domestic violence arise, that person will be helped to get accommodation away from that situation even if they have a share in the house. This is where the discretion of the former community welfare officer arises. I would be most concerned if cases are not being looked after and I ask the Senator to bring such cases to my attention because we will definitely look into them. That would be a top priority for us in terms of making sure that people are looked after.

Senator Moloney mentioned the different rent caps in Killarney. I do not have the specifics for Killarney but in the south Kerry constituency, the evidence available to us is that there are properties available in or around the rent limits there. We have a concern that people are telling us about the top ups, to which Deputy Ó Snodaigh referred. Unfortunately, we can only act on the evidence presented to us. If somebody tells us that the landlord is not willing to engage, our duty of care is to the tenant. We want to engage with the tenant to ensure that they can seek accommodation. I reiterate that we cannot make all accommodation available in all areas for customers. We will not offer the full spectrum of choice. The same applies to the local authorities. Some people want to live in a specific area but this depends on availability. If there is considerable demand for accommodation in that area, we may not be able to facilitate the person within the rent limits.

We have a duty of care to the taxpayer to ensure that we are getting best value for money. We are a big player in the rental market with a stake of about 30% so in terms of ensuring value for money, we cannot keep upping the rent limits because landlords will follow the trend. When we set the limits in the 2010 rent review, there was a 4% weighted average reduction in the rents. In effect, we are setting the bar. Landlords declare rent to the PRTB and the Department and the PRTB send on that data to the Revenue Commissioners. It is fraud if somebody-----