Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not know why the Minister of State would be introducing regulations or a statutory instrument when she could do what we desire in primary legislation. It does not make any sense at all.

The amendment on transfers is fundamentally about the policy on delivering social housing. I read the Fine Gael local election manifesto and noted that it matches completely what the Minister of State is doing. It states:

A new payment, the ‘Housing Assistance Payment’ (HAP), is designed to address three problems associated with the traditional approach to social housing, namely:

- Social housing waiting lists are unacceptably long.

- Rent Supplement has been identified as a 'welfare trap'...

- Responsibility for social housing is divided between the Department of Social Protection - which administers the Rent Supplement scheme - and the Council - which is responsible for managing the social housing list and the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS).

Moreover, it states:

The Housing Assistance Payment will address these problems in three main ways as follows:

First, HAP applicants will source their own accommodation in the private rented sector and once they are accommodated they will be deemed to have their housing need met.

Essentially, the Minister of State is delivering on the Fine Gael local election manifesto.

I completely accept the positive step of removing the welfare trap. I listened to an interview this morning with the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Alex White. He was asked about his regrets and stated Irish Water was one. The Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan should not allow this housing legislation to be a regret. Something can be done about it at this stage. She should not be the one delivering a really poor outcome for people who really require the Labour Party to stamp their authority on this matter. This is a very serious problem and what I propose really should be in the legislation. Anything less is only a con job and people will see it as such.

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