Phil Prendergast (Labour)

Will the CWO still have authority to help applicants? When I was chair of the SPC on housing and social policy on South Tipperary County Council, I was appalled that accommodation given to tenants for which they were paid rent supplement was inappropriate to their needs and in a dangerous condition. I was worried by accommodation provided under the scheme, which was not suitable, for example, for single women with young babies or people with disabilities. They had difficulty with access having to climb two flights of stairs in some cases or having to climb external stairways. The buildings were inappropriate and poorly maintained. I stated at the SPC and at the homeless forum that if the State was helping people on housing lists, the accommodation used for RAS or the rent supplement scheme should be of the highest standard. There is no excuse for not insisting on such a standard nowadays because a glut of hosting is available. Separately, if houses remain unoccupied for a while, they scream out that they are unoccupied and they are sometimes subject to vandalism, which is also an issue.