Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. We have had major commitments from the Government in terms of building housing, but they are slow to translate to action. There are still 2,000 vacant homes awaiting refurbishment across the various local authorities. The housing repair and leasing initiative that was piloted in Cavan and Waterford seems to be going well, but it needs to be extended. My constituency would certainly benefit from such an initiative.

Simon Communities of Ireland has called for a twice-yearly review of the HAP increases. Will the Government commit to facilitate that, given the acute challenges outlined in today's report? Out of the ten areas covered by the study, which included major towns and cities, only eight properties were available for rent to single people and only 11 were suitable for couples. There are plenty of initiatives being launched but we are not seeing the effect in increased supply. A twice-yearly review of the HAP increases should be initiated.

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