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

I lead a Government that contains at least two Cabinet members who grew up in a council home and they are proud to have done so. I also lead a Government that perhaps includes people who are landlords. We should bear in mind that landlords who receive rent supplement and HAP are not receiving subsidies. They are receiving payments that provide housing for people who need it, and until such a time as we can build enough social housing to replace that, it will be necessary.

There is a limit to the number of houses that can be built in any one year. We will increase the social housing stock this year by 8,000, but there will still be tens of thousands of people who will need to be accommodated in the meantime. That is why we use mechanisms such as rent supplement and HAP. It is not a subsidy, it is paying the rent for people who cannot afford to pay the rent themselves, and that is a good thing.

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