Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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Thank you. Many of us have come quite recently from the local authority setting so we know at first hand the difficulties, worries and stress faced by people in trying to secure a tenancy, trying to find a property, encountering landlords who will not accept HAP and the difficulties that go with that. Sometimes a person can feel powerless in that situation and limited in what he or she can do. I welcome that you noted in the report how much hard work is done by the HAP officers in the local authorities and, from my experience in Wicklow, the lengths they go to as well as how much effort they put in for people who contact them. It is important to acknowledge that.

I will call the members for their questions. The first is Senator Fitzpatrick.