Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

I must begin by acknowledging that there are many excellent landlords in the country. We have all visited homes which we believed were houses owned by the people living in them. However, we also have many bad landlords. They are the people who are giving good landlords a bad name, which is what we are speaking about today. We must ensure that accommodation is of a high standard. Many landlords are good people who will make allowances for various problems that arise in a house because they recognise they are the product of everyday life.

I believe the situation in respect of landlords refusing to accept rent supplement will change dramatically in the current circumstances. When this happens, we must, as guardians of taxpayers' money, ensure that everyone is tax compliant and registered. Deputy Wall has proposed a simple formula in this regard, namely, that part and parcel of an application for rent allowance is a section which must be filled out by landlords. Landlords who are providing good accommodation and accepting rent supplement, will have no problem ticking a box which will indicate whether he or she is registered. It is a simple form which will be returned by post to the relevant authorities, which is important.

On anti-social behaviour, the Acting Chairman, Deputy Noel O'Flynn and I know, having been members of local authorities for many years, that the biggest problem facing local authorities is how to tackle families that are devastating estates. Often, having gone through a lengthy legal process in this regard, these people are the following week ensconced in a private estate and virtually nothing can be done about it. The only recourse is the community welfare officer who does not have the resources or manpower to do the job properly. Something has to be done about this. It is not good enough that a person whose son or daughter is wreaking havoc in an area can say they can do nothing about it; they can. We must ensure this issue is addressed as such anti-social behaviour is not fair to the people living next door to or in the same community as these offenders.

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