Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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The HAP contract concluded between the local authority and the tenant sets out the HAP payment per month for the accommodation or the property and the HAP contribution for the tenant. Nowhere in the contract is the cost of the rent taken into account. That was a bone of contention for me when HAP was introduced back in 2014. It is as if we do not need to know the reality. Dr. Sweeney mentioned the percentage of HAP tenants paying top-ups. I believe he stated it was around 28%. I can guarantee that it is much higher than that. Even outside of Dublin, in places like counties Louth and Meath, the top-up that tenants have to pay can be as much as 40%. It leaves them put to the pin of their collars.

In respect of the HAP contract, does Dr. Sweeney believe the rental cost of the property is being excluded from the contract deliberately? The contract gives the impression it is setting out the cost of the rent for the property, even though local authorities and, indeed, the Government know fine well it does not set out the cost of the rent. Happy days if it was. What does Dr. Sweeney think about the fact the contracts exclude the reality of pricing?