I wish the Tánaiste and her colleagues a very happy Christmas. The mention of Christmas conjures up images of joy, warmth and family gatherings around the dinner table. However, for many, that is not the reality. In the past few days we have received reports from Threshold and Focus Ireland and this morning from the Simon Community confirming what is obvious to any of us who has been paying attention to the housing-homelessness crisis of late. The rent supplement issue is exacerbating the problem. The Simon Community described it as an emergency, while Focus Ireland in its report earlier this week stated that for many, the single reason they had become homeless was the rent supplement payment did not cover their rent. According to the report of the Simon Community, 3,000 people are in emergency accommodation, of whom we know hundreds are children.

While I welcome the 20 point action plan announced in the past few days, it is very limited in its geographic reach in preventing homelessness. The Tánaiste is the last hope for many families to keep a roof over their heads because she controls the rent assistance and family income supplement schemes. There is a problem with the pathway accommodation and support system, PASS, whereby local authorities are supposed to capture those at risk of homelessness. Many local authorities count only those who present as homeless, rather than those who are at risk of homelessness. There is nothing for those who are at risk of homelessness but who are in full-time employment. The family income supplement scheme does not take unsustainable housing costs into account.

A review of the rent supplement scheme is under way.

Is the amount budgeted for in 2015 finite, or will new money be made available, if required, for that scheme? I am encountering cases all the time of people in full-time employment facing rent hikes of 20% or 30%, and there are economic evictions in consequence. In such circumstances, would the Tánaiste consider even a short-term adjustment to the family income supplement, or some other mechanism for those without children? Has the Tánaiste sought increased powers for the Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, in light of the increasing pressures on the private rental sector, on which one in five families now rely? Will the Tánaiste consider rent caps, even for a limited duration? It is either one or the other.

I thank the Deputy and extend my good wishes to her and to everybody else in the House for a happy and peaceful Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous new year.

In respect of rent supplement, I will first reiterate what I have stated previously. The approach my Department has been taking is that it has been particularly involved in trying to identify families who are at risk of losing their rented accommodation because landlords are in many cases suddenly seeking hugely increased rents. While this certainly is a problem, what my Department has been and is doing is to emphasise a case-by-case management approach to each individual family in difficulty, which I believe to be the best approach. However, the core underlying problem - the Deputy and I have discussed this previously and I believe we both agree - is that for a long time either no social housing or insufficient social housing has been built in Ireland.

Hear, hear.

In the budget, the Government sought to put together the largest capital programme for housing in a generation. I note that this has been welcomed by Deputies on all sides of the House because, ultimately, increasing supply is the only long-term and medium-term way to address the issue arising from the fact that Ireland has a growing population. Moreover, the population of families with young children is growing hugely, and such people need accommodation on a long-term basis for themselves and their families. The only way in which many of them ever will get that is - as happened up to ten years ago in Ireland - through the provision of an adequate amount of social housing. A family will get a key to their own hall door, and when they close that door they can be sure that no landlord will arbitrarily arrive and suddenly demand enormous increases in the rent payable, regardless of whether they are working. This is the vision to which Members should aspire - namely, that families are provided both with opportunities of purchasing homes on an affordable basis and with homes to rent, either through housing agencies or the local authorities, in order that they can have long-term security of tenure and the key to that hall door which they can be sure will be theirs and their children's for as long as is required.

I have written to community welfare officers, and as recently as last week I met all-----

If one can be found.

-----the regional managers of the community welfare services to emphasise the discretionary power they have in the law to deal with individual cases. At this point in time, under the protocol that the Department has been working on with Threshold and other agencies since the middle of June, more than 300 families have been housed. Moreover, the Department has been rolling out tailored responses on a localised basis to the issues as they arise in different towns and cities throughout Ireland. I consider this to be the best way of reaching the families and individuals who have difficulties.

Why does the Tánaiste not bring in rent controls once and for all and stop the increases?

Please. I call Deputy Catherine Murphy for a supplementary question.

I asked the Tánaiste a number of questions she did not answer. Is the amount of money finite or is it likely to be increased? I also asked her about possible short-term rent caps, increased powers for the PRTB and about something akin to a family income supplement. I acknowledge that from what I can discern, there has been a noticeable difference with regard to community welfare officers, which is welcome. I am interested in practical solutions, but we cannot continue to use the supply-side argument exclusively, because if we take that to its logical conclusion, essentially we are telling people to go off and hibernate.

Another point is that the short-term action plan focuses heavily on Dublin, which is the epicentre of the problem. While it will be extended to Cork city and county, it does not extend to an area identified by the Simon Community, namely, the periphery of Dublin, along with counties such as Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. For example, a county like Kildare is bigger than Limerick city and county put together, but it does not have a city in the middle. Similarly, the pressures on counties such as Wicklow or Meath are just as bad as those on Cork county. Consequently, one really must look at where people live, rather than stating "There is a city, and that is where the problem is." I have a serious problem with that. I acknowledge that there is a housing programme that will extend into the lifetime of the successor to the present Government before houses actually will be delivered. Short-term solutions are absolutely essential, and one thing that is becoming evident is the role the banks are playing with regard to the buy-to-let sector, in which people are increasingly at risk of losing their homes because banks are forcing sales. Increasingly, people are being evicted as a consequence of this trend, and that must be addressed. I ask the Tánaiste to address the questions I asked in the first instance.

And high rents.

First, in respect of the Deputy's question on the amount of the budget and the amount of money allocated, I wish to make clear that this is flexible. Obviously, as the Deputy herself has described, it depends on how rent pressures can vary from area to area. For instance, I am conscious that in the constituency represented by the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, in the south east of the city centre, the presence of information technology giants such as Google and social media companies has meant there is intense pressure on rents due to the number of people who work in the new industries. Obviously, in County Kildare, companies such as Intel and HP are enormous employers and, again, as the Deputy is aware, there is a huge private market of people in work seeking to rent houses for three or five years. This is one reason for the difficulty in respect of housing supply.

I also wish to say, with regard to the Deputy's comments-----

Members know what the problem is. What will the Tánaiste do about it?

The Deputy asked a serious question and I want to try to explain the answer to her.

The Tánaiste has the floor.

Members are looking for solutions, not a statement of what the problem is.

The Tánaiste to reply, please.

The Deputy should have some manners.

I believe Deputy Catherine Murphy would like to hear the answer, and she asked the question on the Deputy's behalf.

I would like the Tánaiste to answer the question. The Dáil would like her to answer the question.

Sorry; the Tánaiste has the floor.

Empty vessels make a lot of noise.

She should not tell us what the problem is.

When Deputies opposite were in control, no houses were being built.

We all know what the problem is.

Please, can we settle down now?

On the Deputy's question about the operation of the banks at present with regard to buy-to-let mortgages, many of which are in difficulty, as recently as last week there was a meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee at which this was discussed in some detail. My view is that we might have an arrangement whereby, when a bank appoints a receiver, it could be a rent receiver.

There is no doubt that in some cases receivers are, in effect, seeking quick vacant possession, and this is increasing the pressure. Many buy-to-let landlords are, perhaps, accidental or part-time landlords and they are now handing back their houses. A receiver may not be aware of the difficulties that a repossession may pose for a tenant. The banks have an obligation to citizens in this country to take into account the impact on tenants of their seeking a sudden or rapid vacant possession. I am happy to talk to the banks about the impact of this on tenants in receipt of rent supplement, because the Department will continue to pay the rent. Unless the house is to be sold immediately, it would appear to me that there is a great deal of scope for an agreement in regard to a further letting period, notwithstanding that the house may ultimately be sold.

In regard to housing supply, approximately 600 of the 1,000 boarded up houses, particularly in the Dublin area, which are known also as voids because the tenancy was surrendered, will be available for re-let by end April 2015, with the remainder coming on stream during the rest of the year. Although it takes time to build houses, there will be additional supply coming on stream next year.

What about rent controls? It is a big issue.

Deputy Ellis did not ask a question.

The Government is ducking and dodging.

The question was not asked by Deputy Ellis.