Housing Issues

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 December 2013

Tuesday, 17 December 2013

Questions (379)

Ciara Conway

Question:

379. Deputy Ciara Conway asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that it is not possible for a woman to obtain a housing needs assessment in circumstances where she is not in receipt of permanent social welfare payment, meaning the family is effectively prohibited from applying for housing or rent allowance and is left with limited options; if his Department has taken into consideration that it is virtually impossible for a woman who is owner or part owner of the family home and is out of home for reasons of domestic abuse to have her housing needs assessed; his plans to acknowledge and resolve the aforementioned issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54074/13]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government

It is open to any person or household to apply to a housing authority for an assessment of their housing need. It is a matter solely for the housing authority concerned to determine whether an applicant for social housing support is eligible for and in need of that support in accordance with the provisions of section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, regulations made under that section, and having regard to the particular circumstances of the case.

Regulation 22(1) of the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 provides that a household with alternative accommodation that would meet its housing need is ineligible for social housing support. Paragraph (2) of the Regulation clarifies that paragraph (1) does not operate to exclude from eligibility for social housing support an applicant who owns accommodation that is occupied by his or her spouse, from whom he or she is formally separated or divorced. Under the enactment, a deed of separation is sufficient to set aside this ineligibility ground and it is not necessary to await judicial separation or divorce to get a decision on social housing support in these cases. This provision is reasonable in most cases.

I acknowledge, however, that situations relating to household members who have separated may exceptionally arise that may not easily be dealt with under the current Regulations. Persons who are forced to leave their homes due to domestic violence may however be placed in accommodation arranged by local authorities without having to be entered on the waiting list. In the longer term, victims of domestic violence may qualify under section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 for entry on a waiting list for social housing support if, in addition to meeting the normal eligibility criteria, the housing authority considers that their current accommodation is unsuitable, having regard to particular household circumstances or on exceptional medical or compassionate grounds.

As part of an ongoing review of the 2011 Regulations, my Department is examining such scenarios and in particular whether specific provision is required in respect of separated persons applying for social housing support who own dwellings occupied by spouses from whom they are separated, but where no court order or deed of separation is in place.