Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

I will address my remarks specifically to domiciliary care allowance. The timeframe for dealing with applications for the allowance is too lengthy and causes undue hardship for those applying in respect of minors. I ask the Minister to address this issue.

In the HSE south area expenditure on supplementary welfare allowance which forms part of the rent supplement scheme amounted to €43.56 million in 2005, €46.30 million in 2006 and €49.21 million in 2007. Annual increases in expenditure in this area would be unwarranted if the Government was doing its job and delivering an adequate social housing programme. Every year the number on the social housing waiting list who contact me grows exponentially. Rent supplement is directly linked to the increase in the number on the social housing waiting list and continues to cost the State exorbitant amounts every year. The moneys expended under the scheme are pocketed by landlords. If an adequate programme for dealing with social housing was in place, the expenditure allocated to rent supplement could be redirected to more needy sections of society.

The rental accommodation scheme is one way of supplanting the rent supplement scheme. My party advocates a "begin to buy" approach which would allow more people to move from social housing onto the housing ladder. We need more joined-up thinking on this issue. While the supplementary welfare scheme may be a necessary mechanism in the short term, we must examine the reasons expenditure on it is increasing every year. More and more people are being forced onto social housing waiting lists. I ask the Minister to address this issue.

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