Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Tánaiste and her colleagues a very happy Christmas. The mention of Christmas conjures up images of joy, warmth and family gatherings around the dinner table. However, for many, that is not the reality. In the past few days we have received reports from Threshold and Focus Ireland and this morning from the Simon Community confirming what is obvious to any of us who has been paying attention to the housing-homelessness crisis of late. The Rent supplement issue is exacerbating the problem. The Simon Community described it as an emergency, while Focus Ireland in its report earlier this week stated that for many, the single reason they had become homeless was the rent supplement payment did not cover their rent. According to the report of the Simon Community, 3,000 people are in emergency accommodation, of whom we know hundreds are children.

While I welcome the 20 point action plan announced in the past few days, it is very limited in its geographic reach in preventing homelessness. The Tánaiste is the last hope for many families to keep a roof over their heads because she controls the rent assistance and family income supplement schemes. There is a problem with the pathway accommodation and support system, PASS, whereby local authorities are supposed to capture those at risk of homelessness. Many local authorities count only those who present as homeless, rather than those who are at risk of homelessness. There is nothing for those who are at risk of homelessness but who are in full-time employment. The family income supplement scheme does not take unsustainable housing costs into account.

A review of the rent supplement scheme is under way.

Is the amount budgeted for in 2015 finite, or will new money be made available, if required, for that scheme? I am encountering cases all the time of people in full-time employment facing rent hikes of 20% or 30%, and there are economic evictions in consequence. In such circumstances, would the Tánaiste consider even a short-term adjustment to the family income supplement, or some other mechanism for those without children? Has the Tánaiste sought increased powers for the Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, in light of the increasing pressures on the private rental sector, on which one in five families now rely? Will the Tánaiste consider rent caps, even for a limited duration? It is either one or the other.

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