I believe that a lot of people in County Clare have been housed through the accommodation recognition payment scheme. From what I can see, it is working well and I have not heard of any major issues from house owners or tenants. It is important that we have a clear picture of how many people are supported under this scheme nationwide. With that in mind, will the Minister of State provide an overall number and county-by-county breakdown of the properties receiving the accommodation recognition payment?

I believe this scheme shows that trust, along with fair financial support, can bring thousands of homes into the rental market. Over 42,000 people are currently housed in more than 20,000 properties, mostly without formal inspection or registration. That is a lot of people willing to rent out their properties under the right circumstances. I am not against proper oversight, but this scheme clearly shows that a system that is simple, fair and works for both sides can be effective. There also appear to be very few complaints about conditions or arrangements. Is there any data that gives way to this?

The scheme has worked, but the time for the scheme should come to an orderly conclusion. Like all temporary schemes, I believe you must look, introduce where needed and phase out where it is no longer appropriate. It is therefore my view that we will be extending the scheme as indicated for 12 months. This will be part of a phasing out process of the ARP. It will also be the intention to reduce the payment from €600 to €400 as part of that phasing out of ARP. That will enable us to have a gradual winding down of the scheme.

Ukrainians who have enjoyed temporary protection in Ireland are a welcome part of our community. There are many opportunities for them to avail of housing in their own right and many Ukrainians are doing so at the moment. We will work to a process of making it very clear the ARP scheme will be coming to an end and will have a phase out on it. I want to make that clear to the Deputy.

The difference between this scheme and the current private rental market is something we should look at closely. The private rental sector sees a lot of RTB disputes, complaints and at times poor relationships between landlords and tenants. The ARP scheme shows a different way of doing things. When property owners are offered a fair, simple and worthwhile arrangement, they respond well. Over 20,000 have already done this.

There are lessons here that could bring more homes into use, ease pressures on rents and improve things for many people who depend on the rental market. It would be a very positive outcome from this programme. Has there been any discussion between the Department of justice and others on how a model like this could be expanded?

I acknowledge what the Deputy is saying but we have to remember how the process of temporary protection came about. It was a temporary process in reaction to accommodation being made available to provide for Ukrainians who had fled from a war. It was designed and put in place as a very particular measure and to facilitate people welcoming people into their homes. It is something for which its time and place is naturally coming to a conclusion. There is a better and fairer way to do it, which allows everyone to have the same access rights to accommodation. The longer term position for Ukrainians who either will or will not return home at the end of the war is that we are putting in place a situation where access to accommodation will be equal and fair with everybody else. While I acknowledge what the Deputy is saying about the scheme and some of its benefits in freeing up accommodation, at this point the best way to deal with it is the orderly wind down we are proposing and moving to the next stage.