Kenny: Raising rent supplement won't solve homeless problem

The Taoiseach appears to have ruled out increasing rent supplement to help some families avoid homelessness.

Enda Kenny said increasing the payment would only lead to further inflation in the cost of renting a home.

Leaders' Questions in the Dáil has been dominated by homelessness, following the death of a homeless man on nearby Molesworth Street yesterday.

The Taoiseach, however, said there is no quick fix to tackling the issue.

"A blanket raising of the rent supplement doesn’t solve the problem," he said. "It will fro some people, but for others, it just moves them up into the next category - of [being] likely to become homeless themselves."

Meanwhile, the Minister for the Environment, Alan Kelly, insisted that the Government still hopes to eliminate homelessness by 2016.

But ahead of a special forum on the issue on Thursday, Alan Kelly says the government won't be able to solve the problem alone:

"It's been ongoing for some time … it is a priority," he said.

"Simply put, there needs to be a more concerted effort involving everyone. It's not something that can just be solved solely by Government - it needs everybody."