Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Ba mhaith liom ar dtús báire mo chomhbhrón féin agus comhbhrón mo pháirtí a dhéanamh le clann James Nolan, a fuair bás go tragóideach sa Pholainn agus glacaim go mbeadh gach duine sa Teach seo ag luí leis sin agus go nguimid suaimhneas síoraí ar James féin agus tá ár smaointe ag dul leis an chlann ag an am tragóideach seo.

I wish to ask the Tánaiste about the impact of Government cutbacks in respect of the 94,000 people who are in receipt of rent supplement. Between rent supplement, the rental accommodation scheme and leasing arrangements, private landlords are being subsidised by the taxpayer to the tune of well more than €500 million. This is the wrong approach to take to housing but the Government is determined to continue subsidising landlords in this way, despite the fact that it would be far more cost-effective to invest in the purchase of social housing via NAMA or otherwise. Is the Tánaiste aware that less than half of the €500 million used to subsidise private landlords is spent on social housing, which would come under the control of local authorities? Surely the logic of this must jump out at him and others in the House who are of a socialist persuasion.

The Government's decision to lower the rent caps and force individual tenants - under the threat of being made homeless - into often unwinnable negotiations with landlords is causing untold misery and upheaval for families throughout the country. If immediate savings are to be made in the rent supplement scheme, why does the Department not - in line with the proposal contained in the programme for Government in respect of other services for social welfare recipients that are subsidised - negotiate directly with landlords to secure reduced levels of rent? My office and those of many other Deputies, including those whose parties are in government, are dealing with families that are being obliged to move out of their homes and the areas in which they live and move their children to other schools as a result of this heavy-handed approach to negotiating with landlords.

I should not need to inform the Tánaiste, the leader of the Labour Party, that those in receipt of rent supplement are among the most vulnerable in both our society and the rental sector. The already live in accommodation that is at the bottom of the price scale. Where exactly are these people supposed to go if their landlords refuse to reduce their rents. Some community welfare officers have suggested that they approach the homeless service. The numbers sleeping rough in Dublin and, I presume, elsewhere throughout the country have risen. The increase in Dublin in this regard stand as 20%. Where will these people's children attend school in September? Many of them are being obliged to move far from the areas in which they previously lived. Will the Government reconsider its heartless decision and come up with a fairer way to find the savings required? Will the Tánaiste encourage the relevant Department to negotiate directly with private landlords and not leave the onerous burden in this regard on the vulnerable tenants to whom I refer?

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