Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)

I did not hear the Minister respond to Deputy Penrose's question about the number of places in the pilot schemes and whether they have been realised. Cork city has one of the pilot schemes and, to my knowledge, while there is negotiation between the city council and the voluntary organisation, the 50 places in question will not be in place by the end of this year. I hope that 50 is not being counted in the total number of 256 given by the Minister. A treble subsidy is given by the State to many private landlords. There is tax relief for building apartment accommodation, tax relief on the rent received from rental accommodation and, as the Minister has mentioned on several occasions, the State pays 40% of all accommodation costs in the State. Is the Minister discussing with his Cabinet colleagues the option of getting rid of this? It must be the only area in which people who own property are getting a treble subsidy from the State.

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