Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is good to see progress. I thank the Minister. I am sure that we would all agree that this cannot happen quickly enough. I pay tribute to Anne Haugh, the director of service for housing, and her team. It is a tricky area to work in. We, as Deputies, bombard them with representations from people who need and are desperate to get housing. A few things need to be looked at urgently, including social housing income bands. Eligibility limits need to be urgently reviewed because Clare is currently in the lowest band, which is band 3. A review of housing assistance payment, HAP, maximum rent payments is needed. Housing assistance payments in Clare were the third lowest in the country, at €550, with two parents and three children. In Ennis, the average private rental cost is €1,000. In the south of the county, in places such as Westbury, a three-bed semi-detached house, which is a modest house, has a rental cost of €1,400. HAP does not correlate to the market values for renting.

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