Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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We will pilot the HAP in seven local authorities.

It is a mixture of different types of local authority. Obviously, when the HAP scheme is introduced, people will be paying differential rent. That will address the issue of rent caps. The pilot scheme areas are being chosen in conjunction with the local authorities - the ones that are ready and where there would not be a huge difference between the notional rent a single person household would pay under the HAP scheme and what they are currently paying under the differential rent scheme. There are a number of considerations as to why particular local authorities will be included in the pilot scheme.

In respect of the overall budget, the housing budget looks somewhat skewed because a large element of it is the capital budget and capital budgets have been cut more significantly than revenue budgets. While there is an increase in revenue for housing, the capital budget is the one element that brings it down in terms of the percentage.