Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)

Without knowing the exact details of the case, I can say from the way it was presented that if a parent, in this instance a woman, is struggling with rent arrears, it must be dealt with in the most sensitive manner. First, the different scenarios and potential ways in which the rent arrears can be addressed should be worked through. That should be the first port of call. The blunt issuing of a letter addressed to a child, in this instance a ten-year-old, does not make any sense. Like Senator Ruane, I hope this is an anomaly. We will try to find out and get a bit more detail. However, even the response I just gave clearly sets out that rent arrears is not an excuse and does not trigger a letter to a child as happened in this case. That sets it out clearly, but we will certainly get more feedback about whether it is appropriate for the letter to be on local authority headed paper as the Senator said it was. We will try to find out more.