Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

An issue has been brought to my attention by Councillor Pat Fitzpatrick in Arklow, who works with Deputy Pat Casey. There seems to be an anomaly in the rental accommodation scheme, RAS. Tenants of a landlord who withdraws from RAS, who previously qualified for the housing assistance payment, HAP, no longer do so. It is up to the local authority in this instance, namely, Wicklow County Council, to house these people in a vacant council house, which we know do not exist readily, or place them in temporary accommodation. The Minister needs to adjust the scheme because there is definitely an oversight.

These former tenants have to be able to qualify for rental allowance or HAP. Apart from having to move into a non-existent house, being left on the side of the road or moving into one-bedroom accommodation, as many people are, there is the further complication that they are bypassing those who have been on the housing list for 15 or 20 years. This is actively happening as we speak. This is not a party political matter. It was a genuine oversight in the way the RAS scheme was adopted and introduced. People living in a house that is being sold cannot apply for a rent allowance or HAP.