Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for Social and Family Affairs for coming to the House this evening. I accept that rent supplement can be beneficial to people who are living in private rented accommodation and cannot provide for the full cost out of their own pocket. I question, however, the quality of accommodation provided in the private rented sector.

I have seen many properties in Dublin South-Central, where people are receiving rent supplement but are forced to live in totally sub-standard flats and houses. Many landlords receive large sums of money but do not maintain their properties properly.

I recently visited a flat in Inchicore where a young mother is living with her three young children. As soon as the door opened I met a strong damp smell. There was mould growing on the wall, and even though the woman has three children she has no access to a back garden. I insisted that the local authority inspect the flat, which it did but following receipt of the report the landlord carried out only minor repairs after many weeks of requests. This landlord is not answerable for the state of the inadequate accommodation for which he receives more than €1,000 per month.

It has also come to my attention that it is over five years since some private rented accommodation in my area was last inspected. There are many landlords with more than one property. In one case in my area the landlord receives on average €10,000 per week from the Department of Social and Family Affairs for properties which are in an appalling condition.

Rent supplement is allocated by the Minister's Department but is paid out by the community welfare officer. The officer, however, is not obliged to check out the accommodation before granting rent allowance. I cannot comprehend how money is being handed over without anyone in authority knowing what they are paying for.

The Department of Social and Family Affairs has stated in the past that accommodation occupied by rent supplement tenants should at least meet minimum housing standards but this is not being enforced. The Department has also stated that responsibility for setting and enforcing housing standards rests with the local authorities.

It is about time that people came into the real world and did something to make landlords accountable for the standard of housing they put up for rent. There must be regular inspections and the blame cannot and should not be shifted from one Department to the next. It is simply not acceptable that neither the Department nor the Health Service Executive, HSE, carries out inspections before substantial sums of money are handed over to landlords.

Many tenants are so desperate to find accommodation that they do not see the hidden problem until they move in. Some are afraid to complain to their local authority. In many cases their landlords evict them if they do.

In these challenging economic times the Minister needs to look for value for money. The Department of Social and Family Affairs should enforce its rules and require full accountability for the millions of euro being paid out on rent supplement each year. The Government must put in place a new system to require landlords who rent out private accommodation to meet basic hygiene and housing standards.

The average weekly rent supplement payment at the end of 2007 was €128.43, and €125.87 at the end of 2008. In 2008, the Department of Social and Family Affairs spent €441 million on rent supplement for 74,000, up from 60,000 in 2007, 20,000 of whom reside in Dublin, which cost €392 million. At the end of 2008, 31,343 households were in receipt of rent supplement for 18 months or more. Is it not true that rent supplement is designed to be a short-term income support scheme? Keeping people on rent supplement long term does not make much sense.

There has to be a better way to channel State funds into helping people live in acceptable conditions. The rental accommodation scheme, RAS, which Dublin City Council introduced is moving along quickly and helps the long-term needs of those moving on from rent supplement. More than 780 landlords in Dublin have signed up to the scheme but this is only a drop in the ocean. The restrictions of the scheme make them reluctant to sign up.

There are thousands of vacant apartments in Dublin city. It is time for the local authorities, together with the relevant Ministers, to examine the possibility of making some of these vacant units available to people who need them.

There are 327,000 people on the live register and we hear of more redundancies each day. With such a dramatic increase in numbers on the dole, the demand for social and affordable housing, and rent supplement is going to sky-rocket. That is why it is so important for the Minister for Social and Family Affairs to act now to address the rent and housing crisis and prevent thousands of euro of taxpayers' money being handed over to line the pockets of many greedy landlords, and to facilitate the many young people living in poor sub-standard conditions with young families and no access to decent accommodation.

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