Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

It is beyond belief that details are not held on the number of people who are refused the supplement or on the duration of appeals. I ask the Minister to deal with that matter and get the information, because I do not think one can make improvements to a system if one does not know the current situation in the system.

The Money Advice and Budgeting Service estimate that as the number of people looking for the supplement is rising, the number of people being refused it is not rising in direct correlation to the number of applications, which, if its figures are correct, would make the Department's estimate of 20% or 25% wrong.

Is the Minister aware that in June 2008, before the Government decided we were in a financial crisis, the Financial Regulator estimated that more than 14,000 mortgages were more than three months in arrears? When the new figures come out, the Minister will probably agree that will be in excess of that figure. In the current climate, considering the number of people who are in difficulty with their mortgages, will more money be made available than was in the budget?

The Minister should bear in mind that if homes are repossessed, people will receive rent supplement. The State will have to pay for these people one way or the other and it would be far better to keep them in their homes.

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