Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

-----is going to work in partnership with those on rent allowance, housing assistance payment, HAP, but in particular rent supplement and how that is going to play out over years one, two and three? We are putting in place a policy that gives landlords free rein to increase prices up to in excess of €940 over the next three years, based on the average in my constituency. Those people on rent supplement are on it because they cannot afford private rented accommodation without State intervention, and because of the long waiting lists for social housing, their prospect of being housed in the immediate future is very slim. They are dependent on that State intervention. If we bring in a system where there will be rent increases, what discussions have there been with the Minister for Social Protection to allow those State interventions to increase in line with the proposed rent increases? Is that Minister factoring this into his 2017 Estimates? The Estimates for next year have been agreed but now there is a change in policy which is going to see an increase in the demand on the State intervention in particular for rent supplement. It is crucial that the people who are on these payments get a commitment from the Government that they will not suffer as a result of any increases in their rent arising from the new policy the Minister is implementing and because there has been a lack of dialogue between the two Ministers. They need a commitment that any increase in rent will be matched by an increase in the State intervention in particular for those on rent supplement. I ask the Minister to give that commitment today.

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