Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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We have been making the point for quite a long time that the cap on rent supplements is driving more and more people into homelessness. This report would seem to justify our worries in that regard. The survey carried out by the Simon Community found, startlingly, that seven out of eight properties available for rent are priced beyond the reach of those in receipt of rent support. In the case of single people, 99 out of 100 properties are beyond the reach of those in receipt of rent support. In the case of a couple, 98 out of 100 properties are beyond the reach of those in receipt of rent support. In the case of a couple with two children, 97 out of 100 properties are simply beyond their reach.

As the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, is aware, we have a very severe housing crisis which has given rise to a situation where 3,143 people are living in emergency accommodation, including almost 1,200 children. Unfortunately, that does not tell the whole story. It is only the tip of the iceberg. Many people in this country for one reason or another, sometimes due to lack of space or other reasons, are not in emergency accommodation but are living with relatives in completely unsuitable conditions such as overcrowding or circumstances where babies or young children are living in the same household as very old people.

I know the Minister of State will be busy from now to the election, but if he had time I would take him on a tour of my constituency. I would take him into house after house in Limerick city where those conditions pertain. In many of those houses he would find that patience is literally at breaking point. The tensions involved in such situations are enormous. It is difficult to imagine a worse possible environment in which to rear children, and many young children are in such unsuitable accommodation.

The Government will be aware that since the previous cap was put on rent supplement, rents have increased by almost 20%, taking them beyond the reach of more and more people who are entitled to rent supplement. In response to me in the House, the Minister for Social Protection did undertake to introduce an element of flexibility into the rent supplement scheme.

She circulated a letter to the managers of all labour exchanges throughout the country. However, I have come across many cases in which flexibility is not being extended and people who are even slightly over the limit are not being accommodated. It is totally at the discretion of the local social welfare officer. Rents are increasing dramatically, for example, they increased by 8% in the first quarter of 2015, which means that more people will not be accommodated. The further one is above the limit the less likely it is that flexibility can be applied, even if the social welfare officer is well disposed. Will the Government re-examine this issue? The ideal solution would be to increase rent supplement. In the absence of this, will the Government re-examine the way flexibility is being applied in practice? What is its position on the application of flexibility under the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme, under which more people are being accommodated?

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The report to which he referred was published this morning. I compliment him on tabling a Topical Issue matter on the report so quickly.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State.

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, supporting approximately 67,000 people, of whom 6,400 have been awarded in 2015, at a total cost of €298 million. More than 2,400 people are in receipt of the new housing assistance payment, HAP, administered by the local authorities. Today's report from the Simon Community entitled, Locked out of the Market: The Gap Between Rent Supplement-HAP limits and Market Rents, shows the major problem in addressing homelessness is the lack of supply of suitable accommodation. The provision of housing is a key priority for the Government and the implementation of the range of actions in the Construction 2020 strategy and the social housing strategy 2020 will support increased housing supply.

While I fully acknowledge the difficulties persons renting or seeking to rent are experiencing, increasing rent limits will provide little in extra supply but will further fuel rental inflation, as outlined in the Department's recent review of rent limits. The State is a significant player in the private rented sector, accounting for over one third of the market. In response to the difficulties the Department is providing a case by case response to ensure access to housing, curtail rental inflation and ensure value for money. Some 2,100 people or families have accessed rent limit increases. The measures implemented provide for increased flexibility in assessing customers' individual accommodation needs through the national tenancy sustainment framework introduced earlier this year. Under this approach, each tenant's circumstances are considered on an individual basis and rents are being increased above the rent limits, as appropriate. This measure applies to both existing rent supplement recipients and new applicants to the scheme. The Department continues to work with Threshold's tenancy sustainment service in urban areas, Dublin and Cork cities, where supply deficits are most acute. Departmental officials are engaging with the relevant stakeholders on the extension of this arrangement to Galway in the coming weeks. The Department has also undertaken a communication campaign to encourage people at risk to make contact with it or the Threshold tenancy protection service as early as possible in order to prevent an unnecessary episode of homelessness.

The Department provides support for persons towards rent deposits under the exceptional needs payments, ENP, scheme. This form of assistance is very important to those on low incomes who rely on the private rented market to meet their housing needs. In 2015 to date, more than 1,300 payments have been provided towards rent deposits, at a cost of almost €700,000. We are constantly reviewing the issue, scrutinising what is happening around the country and ensuring officers in my Department are exercising flexibility. If there are individual cases in which flexibility is not being exercised, the Deputy is welcome to bring them to my attention. I am seeking to ensure the offices of my Department exercise discretion and assist people to avoid homelessness and get into accommodation, including in the types of case the Deputy pointed to in which people are not homeless but are living at home in difficult circumstances and need to move into private rented accommodation. If the Deputy has specific examples in which the system is not working, I will be happy to work with him to try to resolve them. The scheme is being operated in the Deputy's area and I can provide information on the number of times discretion has been used there.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his offer and intend to take him up on it. I take his point on rent inflation. We propose a 5% increase in the rent cap in order to alleviate what is a desperate situation. I am not in favour of hundreds of millions of euro of taxpayers' money going into the pockets of private landlords. I abhor it and it is grossly wasteful; however, we are faced with a crisis. The Minister of State mentioned the figures, but we are only scratching the surface. More than 90,000 people are in need of social housing and the number is increasing. Has any consideration been given to extending the flexibility cap to cases under the HAP scheme? Recently I heard the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, refer to his intention to recommend to the Government the introduction of some form of rent control. What is the status of that proposal?

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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As the Deputy knows, the HAP is dealt with by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly. I understand there has been flexibility under that scheme regarding the homeless. I may be wrong and will ask the Minister to contact the Deputy about it. The Minister is to bring proposals on rent certainty to the Cabinet before the end of the session. The figures I mentioned refer to the 2,100 cases in which the cap was broken, of which more than 1,400 were in the Dublin area, reflecting the position in the rental market. Neither of us intends to put money into landlords' pockets. I am not certain, however, that the Deputy's proposal to increase the cap by 5% would create even one additional unit. I have met local councillors from around the country and they have given me example after example of areas in which there is no accommodation available. In such areas, even if I were to increase the cap by €1,000, it would not generate even one additional unit. There is an acute supply problem. We are in constant communication with our staff to ensure they exercise flexibility and discretion to ensure, where possible, people do not become homeless.