Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

What we need to do and what we are working on is doing what is necessary to get people housed as quickly as possible. I repeat that the Minister of State with responsibility for housing and planning is working with NAMA to transfer to the State houses and dwellings that are currently in NAMA ownership so that those dwellings will be made available for people who have a housing need. The work is under way and I hope Deputy Boyd Barrett supports it. While the work is under way and while people are waiting to be housed through the local authority system, there is a necessity where they are in private rented accommodation that support is provided for them in paying their rent to private landlords. That is what the rent allowance system is for. The Government does not intend to abolish the rent allowance system but we do intend to join it up with the housing system. However, let us be clear about this. We are not going to pay in rent allowance any amount a landlord thinks he can extract from the State.

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