The Chairperson of the Housing Authority has defended comments he made in relation to some homeless people accessing homes on council waiting lists.
Conor Skehan appeared before the Oireachtas Housing Committee where he faced questions about the controversial comments he made earlier this month.
He drew criticism when he suggested that some people were "gaming the system" by declaring themselves as homeless in order to secure a home ahead of others on council waiting lists.
Independent Senator Victor Boyhan told Mr Skehan that a lot of people found his "gaming the system" comments "very offensive," and asked when it came to his attention that people were doing this.
He also asked Mr Skehan if he could clarify the comments and if he still stood over them.
Mr Skehan told the committee what he actually said was "that there may be an issue and that that should be investigated."
He then quoted two phrases to the committee, one which was: "There may well be a small proportion of people gaming the system, but there have been chancers since time began. Look at insurance fraud for instance. If it is happening I am certain it is a tiny proportion."
The other phrase he quoted to the committee was: "No matter what you have whether it is a social welfare system or a tax system or a housing system. Some people will try to scam the system.
"That's just a reality. I am absolutely sure there are some families who are declaring themselves homeless when they may not actually be homeless in order to jump the queue. And that is a tiny, tiny percentage of those families who are actually declaring themselves homeless."
Mr Skehan attributed the first remark to David Hall of the Irish Mortgage Holders Association as reported in the Irish Independent. He then told the committee that the second remark was by Fr Peter McVerry.
Mr Skehan told the committee that he gave a single interview and the statements being reported repeatedly are as a result of a single interview, and a single aspect of a single comment.
He said: "I am arriving in to this committee to say one of the really important pieces of work that this committee has got to do is to find out if these things are true or not.
"I have been extremely careful in my words not to say that these things are happening. I am saying that they may be happening and they should be investigated."
However, Sinn Féin deputy Eoin Ó Broin told Mr Skehan that as Chair of the Housing Agency, he had crossed a line with comments that people were strategically presenting themselves as homeless.
Mr Ó Broin told Mr Skehan his comments had played into "a narrative that is out there in the public, that these people aren't genuine, these people are just queue jumpers, trying to get into a council house quicker."
He also said that reports have shown no evidence this was actually happening.
However, Mr Skehan defended the comments, saying it was his job as chair of the board of the agency, to challenge the executive.
Earlier this month, Mr Skehan was reappointed as the Chair of the Housing Authority on a temporary basis.
