Mr. Bill Griffin:

That is a classic example of what is going on. I have signed the Galway Simon chequebook to pay deposits in advance of the paperwork being done as that was the only solution. My outreach section has come to me with similar stories, that everything was there except the deposit and the paperwork would take time. We have compensated for the slow paperwork on the basis that the person will - fingers crossed - get the deposit. It has worked out in each case but it is a strange way to run a system.

We were told in Galway recently that if a person is applying for rent supplement, regardless of the fact that it will not meet his or her rental needs, the processing of it will take 12 weeks, but if a person is deemed to be homeless it will take only ten weeks. Galway landlords only have to wait about ten minutes to dispose of their property, not ten weeks.