Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The fact that it then grew and there were so many people on it for 18 months or more was the reason for developing the RAS. People were becoming dependent on the rent supplement for their housing needs which was never the intention behind it.

The intention is to ensure that these people can be facilitated through the local authorities' various schemes, whether through RAS units or social housing, and that co-ordination is now taking place. Every local authority in the country now has staff designated to deal with this. RAS is still in its infancy and it is more successful in some local authorities than others.

It is not fair to say that the Department of Social and Family Affairs is involved in long-term housing provision. It is not. The idea is to ensure that rather than being ignored by their local authorities on their housing lists, these people would now become a central part of it. The success of RAS to date, even though the numbers overall could be considered to be fairly low, shows its potential.

It is the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the local authorities which are responsible for housing — it is not the responsibility of the Department of Social and Family Affairs — and they can determine whether a rent supplement can be given depending on the conditions of the housing.

See this speech in context