Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 20 October 2022
Public Accounts Committee
2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 3 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Chapter 4 - Reallocation of Voted Funding
9:30 am
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I will give a specific instance that comes to mind and relates to the housing assistance payment, HAP, on which we have an extravagant spend. I know it is the system we have and without extra supply, we are not going to overcome it. Would Mr. Moloney believe that several people have contacted me pointing out that the housing assistance department in Limerick has been writing to them on a monthly basis - for years in some cases - to tell them their tenants have not paid their portion of the rent. The landlord wrote to HAP to say their tenant has continually paid their rent. The letter comes monthly to say the department is stopping the HAP payment. It is a monthly letter and no matter what form of communication the landlord uses to say the department is incorrect, that letter still arrives. It still comes on a monthly basis and the tenant has missed no payment. First, the letter says it is stopping the HAP payment, which it never does, and, second, it comes monthly, which obviously means there is a postage cost. Was Mr. Moloney aware of that?