Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 December 2014
188. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the scheduling of the promised 75,000 housing assistant payments and rent supplement tenancies announced in November 2014; the estimated cost; and if there has there been a regulatory impact assessment carried out on the impact of this decision on the levels of rents generally. [46701/14]
View answerThe Social Housing Strategy 2020: Support, Supply and Reform, approved by Government and published last week, builds on the provisions contained in Budget 2015 and sets out clear, measurable actions and targets to increase the supply of social housing, reform delivery arrangements and meet the housing needs of all households on the housing list. The Strategy commits to meet the housing needs of some 75,000 households through local authority provision via the private rented sector, utilising the Housing Assistance Payment Scheme (HAP) and accommodation sourced under the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS). It is intended that the strategy will be delivered in two phases. Phase 1 will target the delivery of 18,000 additional housing units and the accommodation of 32, 4 00 additional households through HAP and RAS in the period to the end of 2017. In phase 2, spanning the years 2018 to 2020, the strategy targets the delivery of 17,000 additional units and the accommodation of some 43,000 additional households through HAP and RAS. The table details the breakdown by scheme of additional households expected to be accommodated through HAP and RAS in the period 2015 to 2020.
|
Delivery |
2015 |
2016-2017 |
2018-2020 |
|
- |
Units |
Units |
Units |
|
HAP |
8,400 |
20,000 |
41,040 |
|
RAS |
2,000 |
2,000 |
2,000 |
|
Period Total |
10,400 |
22,000 |
43,040 |
|
Cumulative Total |
10,400 |
32,400 |
75,400 |
A Regulatory impact Assessment (RIA) was carried out in relation to the legislative proposals for the Housing Assistance Payment and accompanied the submission of the General Scheme of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013 to the Government for approval on 17 December 2013. The main part of the RIA, however, had already been brought to the Government on 18 July 2013, and consisted of an Economic Assessment of the proposed scheme. The purpose of that assessment was to consider the potential cost implications for the Exchequer of the proposed transfer of responsibility for rent supplement recipients with an established long-term housing need from DSP to local authorities.
