Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

The information from the Minister that he has no plans to do anything about this is disappointing. Did the Minister see the recent "Prime Time" programme which depicted the appalling condition of much of the private rented sector housing stock? If the Minister did not see it on the night, did he make any arrangements to view it afterwards? It was hair-raising. It showed large numbers of private rented sector units being let out at extremely high rents, particularly in Dublin city, which were rat infested and had serious problems with dampness and overcrowding. They also had poor quality cooking and bathroom conditions. Their conditions were appalling and one would not put a dog into them.

Most people renting this type of accommodation, which is at the lowest end of the market, are in receipt of rent supplement. The Minister cannot wash his hands of responsibility in this area. He is responsible for paying out €420 million of taxpayers' money annually to landlords, many of whom operate these types of housing units and are unscrupulous people who obviously do not care about standards. What is the Minister doing to ensure people in receipt of rent supplement are able to access decent quality accommodation? What action is he taking against unscrupulous landlords who are creaming it at the expense of the most vulnerable people in our society?

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