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

I will have to follow up on that with the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. It is certainly our intention. It may require a change to primary legislation although I am not sure about that. That could be the reason for the delay. However, I will check it out. We certainly do want to encourage people, and particularly older people who often have a spare room or a number of spare rooms in their houses, to consider renting a room or providing accommodation for a student. We want to reassure them that they will not lose out with regard to their pension, fuel allowance or medical card. That is definitely the plan but I will check with the Minister as to why it has not been actioned.

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