Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Actually, I am not sure that it would. I was quite sceptical as to whether increasing the rent supplement limits would make a difference. However, we said that if we were going to do it, we would do it properly and that is why the increases were so big. They averaged 15% but were 30% in some places and even more than that for some categories of family. In many cases, the limits are at or even above what they were the last time that rents peaked. I am not sure that just putting them up again would work because it will not make one additional house or apartment available. It will just change the dynamic among the people who are competing to get the one house or apartment that is available. That is why the solution has to be based on increasing supply and making better use of properties that are vacant or not used at all. In addition to that, we must move towards the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme which allows for much higher payments than is the case with the rent supplement scheme. HAP starts in Dublin next year.

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