Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

The first amendment which was ruled out of order proposed that the Department change the system by which it pays rent supplement and that it pay it in advance. Under the landlord-tenant legislation, rent is required to be paid in advance. Unusually, however, the Department will not do this — it pays the supplement in arrears. Last week, at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Social and Family Affairs, I brought to the attention of the Secretary General the findings of a recent survey of landlords carried out by Threshold. Landlords were asked why they were loath to become involved in the rent supplement scheme. The primary reason they raised was that one had to wait one month to receive rent in arrears, unlike any other tenants where rent is received in advance. We need to examine this system in the round and find out why tenants find it so difficult to identify landlords who are prepared to accept rent supplement. If the area was better regulated, it would provide a level playing pitch for everybody. There are so many gaps in the information made available between the three State agencies involved, which is why the Committee of Public Accounts will play a role in trying to close them. It will try to bring the agencies together in order that there will be a tighter regime and a more highly regulated system. I hope that will happen in the coming months.

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