Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)

As the Deputy will be aware, this year we changed the payment under the accommodation recognition payment, ARP, from €800 per month to €600 per month. I know there were concerns about that change as to what impact it would have on those individuals being accommodated. I am pleased to say it has not had, in our opinion, a significantly detrimental impact and has not led to very many people who were being accommodated pursuant to that payment losing their accommodation. The accommodation recognition payment was a useful measure. It was a goodwill payment to recognise the contribution of hosts who opened up their homes to temporary protection beneficiaries from Ukraine. Some 41,500 people are being accommodated in over 23,000 hosted accommodations supported by this scheme. The ARP is not intended to be a substitute for rent. Indeed, it is not payable where there is a rental agreement in place between the host and the guest. According to research from the Irish Red Cross, the vast majority of hosts who avail of the ARP were never and have no future plans to be landlords. I am aware of concerns about the impact of the scheme on the private rental market. Analysis carried out by the RTB for my colleague, the Minister for housing, suggests that some landlords could be diverting accommodation from the private rental sector to benefit from the ARP. It is difficult to reach definitive conclusions on the matter given wider issues impacting housing supply. I can, however, confirm that the Government agreed to a proposal brought jointly by the Minister for housing and me for the governing legislation to be amended to limit eligibility for the ARP to properties that are not rental properties. I think that will meet the Deputy's concerns. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that drafting of the necessary legislative amendments to give effect to the decision is well advanced. The proposal follows the measure implemented earlier this year where we reduced the ARP from €800 to €600.

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