Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

A commitment to provide for the transfer from the rent supplement scheme to the housing assistance payment scheme was included in the programme for Government. Three years on, the Government has announced that the new scheme will be piloted initially in Limerick. When I spoke to officials from Limerick City Council yesterday, they were unable to tell me when the pilot will start.

I want to ask a few specific questions on this matter. When will the transition start? When will the pilot start? More importantly, when does the Government anticipate that the transition process throughout the country will be complete?

Will all those in receipt of rent supplement for more than 18 months transfer automatically or will only a percentage of them transfer to the HAP? Will staff from the Department of Social Protection be deployed as part of the move to the HAP to assist the local authorities to implement it because they tell me they do not have the resources? The Minister has previously stated that she would be anxious to see rent payment by way of deduction at source from social welfare. Is that still her position?

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