John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On a related issue, yesterday the Residential Tenancies Board outlined the average rents payable for the first and second quarter of this year. The average rent in Dublin is €1,527, in Meath, Kildare and Wicklow it is €1,104, in Cork and Galway it is €1,000 and for the rest of the country, it is €791. If one compares the maximum rent that is allowed to people who qualify under HAP and the rent allowance scheme, the rent is greater than the allowance in every single county.

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In other words, in Dublin the maximum rent allowable under the scheme is €1,200. In counties such as my own county of Kerry it is €575. People who qualify for the housing assistance payment, HAP, and the rent allowance scheme simply cannot get properties they can afford. We are in a dilemma. Unless the Minister increases the allowances under HAP and the rent allowance scheme, none of these qualified applicants will be able to get a property. I ask the Minister to review it in light of the figures published yesterday in order to give people an opportunity.

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