Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

In other arenas there are further stipulations for those in receipt of public moneys. For example, a requirement that a person be tax compliant is standard practice. There is, therefore, no difficulty in principle with requiring landlords to be registered and have proof that they have complied with the law. As the Minister knows, his Department pays rent allowance in arrears. Therefore, after a lease is signed, there is a period of one month in which the landlord can register and produce proof of registration before rent allowance is paid at the end of the month. It could be done if there was a will to do so. However, it is not being done, precisely because there are gaps in the exchange of information between the Department, the PRTB and the Revenue Commissioners. Far from the Department facilitating Revenue in acquiring the information, it has not done so. In addition, there have been serious problems with the computer system. In general, the Department's IT system has not been good.

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