Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 April 2016
733. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if an applicant who signs up to the housing assistance payment scheme is eligible to remain on the local authority housing list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5773/16]
View answer743. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if a person who qualifies for the housing assistance payment should be removed from the housing list of the relevant local authority or if the person can qualify for both; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5468/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 733 and 743 together.
As the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is deemed to be a social housing support under section 19 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, as amended, households in receipt of HAP are not included on the local authority waiting list for social housing support. However, HAP recipients may access other forms of social housing supports by applying to go on the local authority transfer list.
I issued a statutory direction to the local authorities involved in the HAP statutory pilot, including those involved in the HAP pilot with a specific focus on accommodating homeless households, instructing them to take the necessary steps to ensure that households benefiting from HAP can avail of a move to other forms of social housing support, should they wish to do so, through the transfer option. I also directed that HAP recipients, who apply to go on the transfer list, should get full credit for the time they spent on the waiting list and be placed on the transfer list with no less favourable terms than if they had remained on the waiting list.
In practice, housing authorities inform HAP recipients in writing of their entitlement to apply to go on the transfer list when they are approved for HAP. As of 31 March 2016, 83 households have transferred from HAP to other forms of social housing support.
