Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, I will take on board the comments in respect of the place finder service. However, I note HAP has not been rolled out in the Dublin City Council area yet. It is a specific homeless HAP pilot project, which is a different, albeit highly important, scheme because it has found sustainable tenancies for many people. The entire point of HAP is to take people out of the type of uncertainty the Deputy rightly talks about, which many people find themselves in or from which they are pushed, in the private rental sector. The point is to put in place a much more solid and sustainable tenancy under HAP in which the local authority deals directly with the landlord and does a deal with that landlord on a medium to long-term tenancy. In this scheme, the tenant then deals with the local authority rather than with the landlord. That is the entire purpose of trying to switch people from rent supplement, for example, onto HAP, namely, to try to get much greater certainty and to try to enforce standards, because HAP tenancies and facilities are inspected by my Department before they are approved.

3 o’clock

HAP is not perfect but it is a big step in the right direction.

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