Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

I welcome the Minister of State's suggestion to bring both functions together in a one-stop-shop but the discretion community welfare officers have in sanctioning rent allowance is worrying. The vast majority of CWOs are good, decent people but problem cases arise because they have discretion rather than being subject to clear guidelines about people's eligibility. This matter needs to be examined.

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