Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply, but he did not answer my question. Where in Portlaoise or Tullamore can he or the Minister, Deputy Burton, show me an apartment for €340 per month? Where can they show me a family home in Portlaoise or Tullamore that can be rented for €450 per month?

Four categories have been cut in the Kildare constituency of the Acting Chairman, Deputy Wall, five in Laois and three in County Offaly. Indeed, one category in Offaly was reduced by €75 for a family of three. While Sinn Féin wants value for money, the only way to achieve this measure is to introduce rent controls, something that no Government in recent years has been prepared to do. The Government cannot impose a limit that bears no relation to the market.

The Minister of State mentioned that the Department got information from the Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB. Instead of €400 per month, landlords could be charging €460, €480 or €500. They will register with the PRTB at the limits set by the Department, but those are not the amounts charged when people rent from them.

I draw the Minister of State's attention to a report by the Citizens Information Centre, CIC, on the centralised rent supplement unit, CRSU. I will mention the CIC's survey briefly, as I was brief the first time I spoke. Some 92% of people who e-mailed the CRSU were not e-mailed back, 94% of calls to the CRSU were not answered and 100% of those who called were not called back. The CIC is a fairly reliable body that does great work. Will the Minister of State bring this report and the issue of thresholds to the Minister's attention? I am not trying to be smart.

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