Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)

Senator Daly stated that some tenants are in receipt of rent supplement, the amount of which is greater than the rent due on the home, and that these people are keeping the extra money. That is difficult to do because landlords are required to declare on a specific form the amount of rent being paid and a CWO will not pay more than the amount stated. If the Senator has evidence of that happening he should bring it to the attention of the Department.

As regards the social housing capital budget, the reality on the ground is very different in terms of the figure of €300 million being provided in this regard. At a recent meeting with Galway County Council I was told by the director of housing that only two one-off houses in County Galway would be built this year and next year. The possibility of a budget to make available houses for all those people on housing lists does not seem to matter. We are not having a go politically. We acknowledge an issue exists and there is a problem that needs to be addressed. The immediate situation is very hard on tenants put in the position of having to re-negotiate and this needs to be addressed.

Another anomaly which has been discussed at a number of public meetings in Galway is that of single parents who have split from their partners and have been granted custody in the courts, being measured as single people in this scenario. A single father is given rent supplement accommodation for a single person. If he has joint custody of his children he has no space in his house for them. This is having a very detrimental effect on these families and is another issue which needs to be addressed.

Young people are stuck in emergency homeless accommodation because their income is too low due to the rate of social welfare they are paid. They cannot leave the emergency homeless accommodation to move to mainstream accommodation and this issue also needs to be addressed.

To be honest, I feel we are getting more of a hearing from the Minister, who is listening to us. I welcome the comments made by other Senators who have shown they are very much in touch with what is happening. I call on both Ministers to rethink some of the issues. Even at this stage I call on the Minister to withdraw the Government amendment because I do not feel it adds anything to what we have proposed. Our motion is fair and balanced. The Government amendment has some points with which we cannot agree and we feel we do not have enough information to support it.