Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome many of his comments. This is about the practicalities of individuals carrying out vital works that are unfortunately not classified as essential. I am referring to family circumstances that most of us in this House deal with every day simply through representations but we do not experience them on a personal level. The families do not have the time to go through a labyrinth of forms and various schemes.

I was a little concerned when the Minister of State referred to means testing. To what extent will means tests take into account factors such as having a mortgage in addition to having to pay rent? There is scope for expanding the rent supplement. I ask the Minister of State to work with the Minister for Social Protection to consider this expansion. To the Minister of State and me, this matter involves a short-term measure but for the families who are locked out of their homes on which they are doing vital work and who do not know how they will pay their bills at the end of the month, it is very pressing and concerning.

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