Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

There are two basic questions from Deputy Naughten, who I welcome to the portfolio. The savings outlined at the beginning of the year amounted to €48 million. Those savings have been achieved by virtue of the changes introduced. However, they do not show up on the bottom line of expenditure on rent supplement because demand has increased. The published Estimate for the year was €490 million but we will spend approximately €500 million by the end of the year.

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