Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

I do not agree with the Minister with regard to better accommodation. If a person is living in extremely poor accommodation and seeks to move to better accommodation, the first thing he or she must do is approach the community welfare officer in order to seek a deposit to secure that better accommodation. Problems immediately arise in such circumstances because the individual's existing landlord will state that a window or tap was broken, that the grass was not cut according to the agreement reached, etc. Tenants are often trapped as a result and cannot obtain a deposit to allow them to move house.

The Minister missed the point that new landlords often seek deposits of far greater value than what is really required. Community welfare officers will not provide people with deposits. They maintain that tenants must be able to save enough money for their own deposits. How can such people save €1,000, €1,500 or whatever for a deposit? It is impossible for them to do so. They are trapped and their existing landlords will demand payments from them and will not allow them to move on with their entire deposits intact. They must then go to the community welfare officer to seek a transfer. I have not yet seen, in respect of all the incidences brought to my attention — sadly, there have been many — a mechanism through which tenants can recoup their deposits when seeking to move to better accommodation. I accept the Minister's remarks in respect of accommodation being available, but I do not believe the transfer by a person from poor to good accommodation is easy. There is no mechanism in place to protect people in this instance. Community welfare officers are not in a position to follow up these cases and there does not exist, as far as I am aware, any other person to do this work, thus leaving tenants trapped in their original tenancy. These tenants are not in a position to move to better accommodation except, perhaps, under the RAS scheme.

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