Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 June 2019
1001. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of applicants on the various local authority housing waiting lists who have been housed in the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24303/19]
View answerMy Department does not hold information of the specific type requested by the Deputy.
The allocation of social housing support is a matter for each individual local authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, and associated regulations. Section 22 of the 2009 Act requires all local authorities, as a reserved function, to make an allocation scheme determining the order of priority to be accorded in the allocation of dwellings to households qualified for social housing support and to households approved for a transfer, the allocation of which would, in the opinion of the authority, meet the accommodation needs and requirements of the households.
However, my Department does collect annual statistics on the number of households on social housing waiting lists. Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority area are provided in the statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA), which has been carried out on an annual basis since 2016. The summary is a count, on a specific date, of all households qualified for social housing support on local authority waiting lists whose housing need has not been met.
The 2018 assessment shows that 71,858 households were assessed as qualified and being in need of social housing support. This represents a decrease of 13,941 households or 16.2% on the last assessment in June 2017. Indeed, since the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan was launched in 2016, the numbers have decreased from 91,600 to 71,858, a reduction of 22%.
