Ms Niamh O'Donoghue:

The point I would make, as I already said to Deputy Deasy, is that there are nearly 2,000 such flexible arrangements in place, in a context where rent supplement is paid to about 69,000 people. That is a reasonably significant proportion. Do I think that meets all needs? No. There is work to be done. There are particular areas of the country where supply is a huge issue. I agree with the Chairman. I do not think it is in any way an objective or a good outcome that a family ends up in a hotel. Quite apart from the cost factors, there are child protection and security factors and everything associated with it, which is why I know the local authorities equally are working extremely hard to try to deal with this, but supply is a huge issue.

The evidence is there for us, in the form of the 2,000 cases, that at least the flexibility is operating at a certain level. Perhaps it is not at the level or not as apparent as one would like it to be, but that is the reality. There are 2,000 cases enjoying a flexibility that the limits would not allow otherwise.