Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his constructive reply and I absolutely share his concern about the low level of uptake of the rent supplement. That is because the previous and current Ministers with responsibility for social protection and the Department are not doing enough to promote that payment. I echo the Minister's call for people to avail of it. If one looks at the latest figures from the Department on rent supplements, the average rent supplement payment currently for those 7,000 applicants is €670 per month. In Dublin, it is only €783 per month, and given that average rents in Dublin now are €1,700 per month, that shows that even if one is getting the rent supplement, and it is a good support, there is still the very real possibility of significant arrears.

I also urge the Minister to not only engage with us, but to actively consider the possibility of including partial or full write-downs of arrears as part of an overall package, including interest-free payment holidays for landlords on their mortgages as well as the rent supplement. This will ensure the burden of those rent arrears is not left solely at the door of renters but is fairly shared across all concerned.

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