Only 4% of recent rental properties surveyed by the Simon Communities were available to Housing Assistance Payment recipients.

The latest ‘Locked Out of the Market’ report found that out of 1,233 properties across 16 areas across the country, only 46 were available to rent as part of the HAP scheme.

The survey looked at properties between September and December last year and found there were none at all in areas such as Athlone, Portlaoise, Limerick City and all of county Leitrim.

The Simon Communities of Ireland’s Interim Executive Director Tony Geoghegan said the situation is getting worse and worse for low income renters.

“In layman's terms, what it means is that while we have a commitment at national level to implement the United Nations Convention and support people with disabilities to live equally like everybody else in their communities, that there is a disconnect between that national commitment and how it can be implemented at local level where people live,” he said.

A realtor hands over house keys, Alamy

Portlaoise had the lowest number of properties available to rent with just three properties available across the three days.

For the purpose of the report, studio apartments are not included in the overall figure for HAP properties - however, there were 35 studio apartments available within HAP limits during the study period.

Five of these properties were available within standard HAP limits with 34 of the 35 studio apartments in Dublin and the remaining property in Kildare.

A housing estate, © PA Wire/PA Images