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

If the Minister of State's response reflects the best that the Government is prepared to do, there will inevitably be protests by those affected by these changes. The reality is that in many parts of Dublin - not just Dublin 2 and 4 but also Dún Laoghaire, much of south County Dublin and elsewhere - and in other cities such as Galway and Waterford, it is simply not possible to secure suitable accommodation within the new rent caps, particularly for families with two or more children. Before I came into the Chamber for this debate, I checked daft.ie to see what was available in Dún Laoghaire for the maximum threshold of €950. There is not a single three-bedroom house available for that price. The caps must be raised if people are to secure accommodation that fits their needs.

Despite the Minister of State's claims to the contrary, people certainly are being forced into homelessness. I brought a person to Leinster House last Thursday who is homeless as a result of the reduction in the rent allowance cap. This person is now separated from two of her children and is sleeping on a sofa in her grandmother's house, in which an elderly and ill great-grandmother also resides. People should not be forced into such desperately overcrowded conditions. Other people are being told to go to hotels in Drumcondra even though their children go to school in Dún Laoghaire. That is simply not acceptable. Will the Minister of State ask the Minister for Social Protection to raise the caps as a short-term measure in order to ensure people can find affordable accommodation? In the longer term, some of the thousands of vacant properties throughout the country should be placed under the control of the local authorities and used to provide secure, affordable housing where people will not have the threat of eviction hanging over their heads.

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