Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State's statement that there is a problem. As he said, 30% of the private rental market is in some way controlled by the State as it is the funder. I am not someone who wants to subsidise private landlords further. In fact, the opposite is the case. The problem is that we have a crisis, especially in Dublin and other areas where the rent cap set by the Department is out of sync with the rents being sought by landlords. In that event, people end up in homelessness or, as they have done for years, having to make an under the counter payment. The problem is that the gap between rent and the rent supplement cap has grown to such an extent that even those who have made a top-up payment in the past can no longer do so.

My specific question is on the Department's rent supplement initiative and family protocol, which I welcomed. I am not opposed to it. The problem is that some of the people who availed of it in the first place are being timed out as it was a temporary initiative. Can it be extended? If it is being extended, it is akin to a different rent supplement cap. Can the Minister of State explain that a bit more?

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