I have been informed in a response to a Dáil question that the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) paid out since the scheme was first introduced has cost the exchequer in excess of €1.2 billion.
“It is an enormous amount of money and as the number of people on the scheme grow so does the cost to the exchequer. In 2015 the cost was €15.64 million and in 2019 this cost had jumped to €382.4 million. This represents an increase of the costs are rising at an enormous pace”.
“The policy of the HAP scheme was initially set up as a fall-back position but now it is the primary way of providing housing”.
“The value for money has to be questioned, as this is dead money. It is public money and we have nothing to show for it”.
“The Government must re-adjust their thinking and put the provision of housing stock at the heart of their housing policy in order to meet the demand for housing and to reduce the reliance on the HAP Scheme”.
“We cannot continue to keep spending public money in these vast amounts without having anything in return is unsustainable. It is not a good long-term strategy and it represents poor value for money”.