Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 16:

In page 3, before section 2, to insert the following new section:

"2.—The Minister shall, within 3 months of the commencement of this Act, lay before each House of the Oireachtas, a report on administrative options to reform the Rent Supplement Scheme.".

This is a serious issue and I tabled the amendment because I am seeking support for people living in rented accommodation. A review must be carried out in respect of the existing system. Under the current scheme, rental supplement is paid in arrears to recipients, which places them on an uneven footing vis-À-vis other tenants who are able to provide their landlords with deposits and the first month's rent up front. Landlords will choose people who can pay immediately rather than those awaiting the payment of rent supplement. If landlords are considering requests from the latter to commence tenancies with them, they should not be obliged to wait for the rent to be paid in arrears.

Some tenants are forced to top up their rent with additional payments to their landlords, which is in breach of the conditions attached to the payment of rent supplement. As we are all aware, that is going on in every part of the country. However, tenants often have no option other than to make such payments. If they refuse to do so, they run the risk of losing their tenancies and putting their rent supplement in jeopardy. I ask the Minister of State to comment on that.