Government defends 'incredibly poor value for money' HAP scheme 

Last year the Government spent just under €654m on Housing Assistance Payment and the Rental Accommodation Scheme.

The government has defended the Housing Assistance Payment for social housing provision saying that to acquire properties instead would require “very, very large numbers” of homes to be bought.

At the Public Accounts Committee, Secretary General of the Department Graham Doyle, while acknowledging that HAP and RAS (Rental Accommodation Scheme) represent poor value for money for the Exchequer, said that any wholesale acquisition of such properties from landlords for social housing would have to be considered in terms of how it would affect the overall housing market.