Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will make two points in respect of what the Deputy said. First, the rent supplement and housing assistance payments are not being used to supplement landlord profits. They are being used to provide accommodation to citizens who, in the absence of these payments, would be unable to access the accommodation they need and deserve while our social output is increasing. I have a question from Deputy Boyd Barrett on the matter as well and we had a debate on the matter yesterday during parliamentary questions to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

The Deputy made a second point on the fund. The purpose of this fund, as I have communicated today publicly, is to have money available in exceptional circumstances that are recognised by the Minister for Finance of the day. These must then be agreed by Cabinet and then, in turn, a resolution must be brought to the Dáil on the matter.

My view is that we will only know the value of this fund when we need it. If we face an exceptional shock we will lament not having set it up. As things stand, the level of public debt in the country is a little under €203 billion, which is a fraction of where we were when we faced the last economic shock, a shock we are still trying to put behind us. For that reason I believe this is an appropriate thing to do to help with the long-term challenges our country may face.

See this speech in context