I wish to raise two issues regarding the housing assistance payment, HAP, in the context of constituents in Dublin Bay North. The first is HAP discrimination. Is the Tánaiste aware of cases of landlords refusing to take tenants who are on HAP? While this practice is illegal, it is still happening routinely across Dublin Bay North. The other issue is the thresholds that apply. Constituents are being refused HAP support on the basis of their average net income over 12 months. If you lose your job or face a financial crisis, your income falls off a cliff but you are still assessed on the average of the previous 12 months. It is unfair and does not reflect the reality of the situation for those people. What can we do to better help people who experience sudden and devastating changes to their lives to access those HAP supports? What can we do to deal with those landlords who are refusing access?

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