Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

As Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett said, there are 230,000 empty dwellings in the State. As I said in reply to an earlier question, the Government is working with NAMA to have houses transferred to the public system in order that they will be available for people who need them. That makes sense. If residential property is not being used and is tied up in NAMA, it makes sense to use these dwellings to make homes available for people who need them.

A very large sum of money is being paid in rent supplement. However, it is not a solution, as the Deputy seems to suggest, that the Government stop paying this money. If we were to stop doing so, the people who would suffer are the tenants who need to be provided with housing. Yes, we want to reduce the amount involved. That is why we have capped the rental levels in order that landlords do not exploit the rent supplement system. We do not want them to hike up rents in the expectation that the State will fork out any amount of money they ask for. We have to have a limit on the upper amount that can be paid. We need to continue to pay rent supplement in order that people in private rented accommodation will not be left vulnerable to their landlords and can continue to have secure housing.

We are shifting the responsibility for the rent allowance system to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. We are integrating it with the provision of housing in order that there will be a joined-up approach to the provision of housing. This is a reform that is long overdue. We are joining up the provision of social housing, assistance for people in private rented accommodation and the making available of dwellings that are not being used and could be used to provide housing for those who need it.

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