I must now deal with a postponed division relating to the motion regarding the social housing tenant in situ scheme. On Wednesday, 19 March 2025, on the question, "That the amendment to the motion be agreed to", a division was claimed and in accordance with Standing Order 85(2), that division must be taken now.
Social Housing Tenant In Situ Scheme: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]
The following motion was moved by Deputy Eoin Ó Broin on Wednesday, 19 March 2025:
That Dáil Éireann:
notes that:
— under significant pressure from the Opposition, the Government reopened the Social Housing Tenant in-Situ Scheme in 2022, and, following further pressure from the Opposition, provided much needed flexibility in the operation of the scheme in 2023;
— since April 2023, more than 2,500 households have been prevented from becoming homeless because of the scheme;
— 16,546 notices of termination were issued to private rental tenants last year, with more than half of those on the grounds of landlords intending to sell the property; and
— the number of people in Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage funded emergency homeless accommodation increased by 13 per cent in the last year to 15,286 people, including 4,603 children;
expresses concern that:
— the Social Housing Tenant in-Situ Scheme has been suspended since the end of last year, due to the failure of Government to agree the funding and targets for 2025, with hundreds of applications left pending without a decision due to lack of funding;
— there is a concerted effort by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to reduce the funding for, and restrict the operation of, the scheme;
— Approved Housing Bodies are effectively excluded from the scheme, arising from an inability to access Capital Advance Leasing Facility funding for acquisitions; and
— the result of these factors is that greater numbers of people are being put at risk of homelessness, and landlords are disincentivised from engaging with the scheme; and
agrees that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage must:
— ensure that local authorities have the maximum level of funding to be able to operate the Social Housing Tenant in-Situ Scheme at the same level as 2024, and that the funding levels allocated for 2025 will be reviewed mid-year;
— provide local authorities with the maximum level of flexibility in the operation of the scheme, in line with its operation in 2023 and 2024;
— reject the new restrictions being proposed by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to the scheme, including:
— the strict requirement for a Notice of Termination and Residential Tenancies Board registration;
— the exclusion of reasonable refurbishment costs;
— the de-prioritisation of single people and couples without children; and
— the two-year rule, whereby the owner of the property must be in receipt of a social housing support payment for a period of two years; and
— provide local authorities with their capital allocations and targets for 2025 as a matter of urgency, to allow them to process all outstanding applications and reopen the scheme to new applications.
Debate resumed on amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:
notes that:
— increasing the overall housing supply is key to addressing the housing challenge and preventing and ultimately eliminating long-term homelessness, and the clear focus of Government must therefore remain on increasing the supply of new build social and affordable homes;
— notwithstanding, a targeted second-hand social housing acquisition programme has been and will continue to be an important policy response to priority needs such as tenancy sustainment, exits from homelessness, support for elderly and disabled persons and tackling vacancy;
— the Government formally introduced Tenant in-Situ acquisitions in 2023, as a temporary response to the reported uplift in sales by landlords of homes which were within the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) schemes in order to prevent potential homelessness where other solutions could not be found for the affected tenants;
— the Government extended such acquisitions into 2024, and now 2025, and has repeatedly increased the funding available over and above that set out in Housing for All; and
— the Residential Tenancies Board received 16,546 Notices of Termination in 2024, and this was down 13 per cent in 2023, 9,170 of these were issued as a result of landlord intent to sell the property, and this was down 20.7 per cent in 2023;
further notes that:
— the social housing Second Hand Acquisitions (SHA) programme or tenant in-situ acquisitions were not suspended, and the Programme for Government – Securing Ireland's Future commits to continuing Social Housing Tenant in-Situ acquisitions;
— the Government has agreed to continue the programme in 2025, with funding of €325 million being provided, and this funding will provide for the acquisition of second-hand homes for the following priority needs:
— Tenant in-Situ acquisitions;
— older persons and persons with a disability;
— exits from homeless services; and
— Buy and Renew acquisitions, which tackle vacancy;
— prioritising vulnerable households for support under the second-hand acquisitions programme is important, but it does not mean excluding others. It will be a matter for local authorities to respond to local needs and single persons and couples can be supported;
— under revised arrangements for second-hand acquisitions in 2025, local authorities will receive a capital funding allocation for the acquisition of second-hand dwellings;
— individual local authority capital funding allocations will help promote best practice in obtaining value for money and provide local authorities with the flexibility to respond to needs and priorities locally within the categories of need being prioritised, and a circular will issue to local authorities imminently outlining their capital allocations for 2025;
— funding is available to AHBs to acquire second-hand homes under the programme on the same 100 per cent grant funded basis as that available to local authorities, and funding for AHBs will be provided under the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) which reflects the priority needs being targeted;
— the introduction of eligibility criteria and priority needs for acquisitions, including Tenant in-Situ, will allow for a more targeted programme of acquisitions and enable local authorities to acquire the maximum number of homes for such needs;
— refurbishment funding will not be available under the SHA programme for Tenant in-Situ acquisitions, as such properties are the beneficiaries of significant Exchequer funded rent supports every week, are legally required to meet the provisions of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019, and are subject to inspection by local authorities to ensure they meet the said standards, and immediate essential repairs should not therefore be required;
— some refurbishment works may be required in the short- to medium-term, but these should be noted as part of the condition survey and programmed for future planned maintenance works such that the capital funding available for Tenant in-Situ acquisitions is dedicated to maximising the number of acquisitions, and funding works which are not immediately required would prevent the number of acquisitions being maximised;
— there are a number of funding programmes available for local authorities to improve their social housing stock, including the Planned Maintenance programme, the Disabled Persons Grant, the Regeneration Projects and Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme; and
— refurbishment funding is available for acquisitions under exits from homelessness, older and disabled persons and Buy and Renew, where works are required to ensure the property meets the provisions of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019, or adaptation requirements to accommodate the tenant; and
highlights:
— the success of the SHA programme to date:
— almost 7,000 second-hand homes have been acquired since 2020, at a capital cost of circa €2 billion; and
— in the period 2023 to Q3 2024, just over 3,100 second-hand acquisitions have been completed of which 2,000 have been Tenant in-Situ acquisitions;
— the Government is committed to continuing with a targeted SHA programme which will prioritise the most vulnerable households within the priority areas being supported, but will not act to exclude persons or households; and
— in implementing the programme, local authorities are being asked to, and are being given the flexibility to, respond to local needs, and single persons and couples can be supported.
- (Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage)
Amendment put:
The Dáil divided: Tá, 87; Níl, 71; Staon, 0.
Tá
- Aird, William.
- Ardagh, Catherine.
- Boland, Grace.
- Brabazon, Tom.
- Brennan, Brian.
- Brennan, Shay.
- Brophy, Colm.
- Browne, James.
- Burke, Colm.
- Butler, Mary.
- Butterly, Paula.
- Buttimer, Jerry.
- Byrne, Malcolm.
- Byrne, Thomas.
- Cahill, Michael.
- Callaghan, Catherine.
- Calleary, Dara.
- Canney, Seán.
- Carrigy, Micheál.
- Carroll MacNeill, Jennifer.
- Chambers, Jack.
- Cleere, Peter 'Chap'.
- Clendennen, John.
- Collins, Niall.
- Connolly, John.
- Cooney, Joe.
- Crowe, Cathal.
- Cummins, John.
- Currie, Emer.
- Daly, Martin.
- Dempsey, Aisling.
- Devlin, Cormac.
- Dillon, Alan.
- Dolan, Albert.
- Donohoe, Paschal.
- Dooley, Timmy.
- Feighan, Frankie.
- Fleming, Seán.
- Foley, Norma.
- Gallagher, Pat the Cope.
- Geoghegan, James.
- Grealish, Noel.
- Harkin, Marian.
- Healy-Rae, Danny.
- Heydon, Martin.
- Higgins, Emer.
- Keogh, Keira.
- Lahart, John.
- Lawless, James.
- Lowry, Michael.
- Maxwell, David.
- McAuliffe, Paul.
- McCarthy, Noel.
- McConalogue, Charlie.
- McCormack, Tony.
- McEntee, Helen.
- McGrath, Séamus.
- McGreehan, Erin.
- Moran, Kevin Boxer.
- Moynihan, Aindrias.
- Moynihan, Michael.
- Moynihan, Shane.
- Murnane O'Connor, Jennifer.
- Murphy, Michael.
- Naughton, Hildegarde.
- Neville, Joe.
- O'Brien, Darragh.
- O'Callaghan, Jim.
- O'Connell, Maeve.
- O'Connor, James.
- O'Dea, Willie.
- O'Donnell, Kieran.
- O'Donovan, Patrick.
- O'Meara, Ryan.
- O'Shea, John Paul.
- O'Sullivan, Christopher.
- O'Sullivan, Pádraig.
- Ó Cearúil, Naoise.
- Ó Muirí, Naoise.
- Richmond, Neale.
- Scanlon, Eamon.
- Smith, Brendan.
- Smyth, Niamh.
- Timmins, Edward.
- Toole, Gillian.
- Troy, Robert.
- Ward, Barry.
Níl
- Ahern, Ciarán.
- Bacik, Ivana.
- Bennett, Cathy.
- Boyd Barrett, Richard.
- Brady, John.
- Buckley, Pat.
- Byrne, Joanna.
- Carthy, Matt.
- Clarke, Sorca.
- Collins, Michael.
- Connolly, Catherine.
- Conway-Walsh, Rose.
- Coppinger, Ruth.
- Cronin, Réada.
- Crowe, Seán.
- Cullinane, David.
- Cummins, Jen.
- Daly, Pa.
- Devine, Máire.
- Doherty, Pearse.
- Donnelly, Paul.
- Farrelly, Aidan.
- Farrell, Mairéad.
- Fitzmaurice, Michael.
- Gannon, Gary.
- Gibney, Sinéad.
- Gogarty, Paul Nicholas.
- Graves, Ann.
- Guirke, Johnny.
- Hayes, Eoin.
- Healy, Seamus.
- Hearne, Rory.
- Kelly, Alan.
- Kenny, Eoghan.
- Kenny, Martin.
- Lawless, Paul.
- Lawlor, George.
- Mac Lochlainn, Pádraig.
- McDonald, Mary Lou.
- McGettigan, Donna.
- McGrath, Mattie.
- McGuinness, Conor D.
- Mitchell, Denise.
- Murphy, Paul.
- Mythen, Johnny.
- Newsome Drennan, Natasha.
- Ní Raghallaigh, Shónagh.
- Nolan, Carol.
- O'Callaghan, Cian.
- O'Donoghue, Richard.
- O'Donoghue, Robert.
- O'Flynn, Ken.
- O'Gorman, Roderic.
- O'Hara, Louis.
- O'Reilly, Louise.
- O'Rourke, Darren.
- Ó Broin, Eoin.
- Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
- Ó Murchú, Ruairí.
- Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
- Ó Súilleabháin, Fionntán.
- Quaide, Liam.
- Quinlivan, Maurice.
- Rice, Pádraig.
- Sherlock, Marie.
- Smith, Duncan.
- Stanley, Brian.
- Tóibín, Peadar.
- Wall, Mark.
- Ward, Charles.
- Ward, Mark.
Staon
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Mary Butler and Emer Currie; Níl, Deputies Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Denise Mitchell.
Amendment declared carried.
Question put: "That the motion, as amended, be agreed to."
The Dáil divided: Tá, 87; Níl, 70; Staon, 0.
Tá
- Aird, William.
- Ardagh, Catherine.
- Boland, Grace.
- Brabazon, Tom.
- Brennan, Brian.
- Brennan, Shay.
- Brophy, Colm.
- Browne, James.
- Burke, Colm.
- Butler, Mary.
- Butterly, Paula.
- Buttimer, Jerry.
- Byrne, Malcolm.
- Byrne, Thomas.
- Cahill, Michael.
- Callaghan, Catherine.
- Calleary, Dara.
- Canney, Seán.
- Carrigy, Micheál.
- Carroll MacNeill, Jennifer.
- Chambers, Jack.
- Cleere, Peter 'Chap'.
- Clendennen, John.
- Collins, Niall.
- Connolly, John.
- Cooney, Joe.
- Crowe, Cathal.
- Cummins, John.
- Currie, Emer.
- Daly, Martin.
- Dempsey, Aisling.
- Devlin, Cormac.
- Dillon, Alan.
- Dolan, Albert.
- Donohoe, Paschal.
- Dooley, Timmy.
- Feighan, Frankie.
- Fleming, Seán.
- Foley, Norma.
- Gallagher, Pat the Cope.
- Geoghegan, James.
- Grealish, Noel.
- Harkin, Marian.
- Healy-Rae, Danny.
- Heneghan, Barry.
- Heydon, Martin.
- Higgins, Emer.
- Keogh, Keira.
- Lahart, John.
- Lawless, James.
- Maxwell, David.
- McAuliffe, Paul.
- McCarthy, Noel.
- McConalogue, Charlie.
- McCormack, Tony.
- McEntee, Helen.
- McGrath, Séamus.
- McGreehan, Erin.
- Moran, Kevin Boxer.
- Moynihan, Aindrias.
- Moynihan, Michael.
- Moynihan, Shane.
- Murnane O'Connor, Jennifer.
- Murphy, Michael.
- Naughton, Hildegarde.
- Neville, Joe.
- O'Brien, Darragh.
- O'Callaghan, Jim.
- O'Connell, Maeve.
- O'Connor, James.
- O'Dea, Willie.
- O'Donnell, Kieran.
- O'Donovan, Patrick.
- O'Meara, Ryan.
- O'Shea, John Paul.
- O'Sullivan, Christopher.
- O'Sullivan, Pádraig.
- Ó Cearúil, Naoise.
- Ó Muirí, Naoise.
- Richmond, Neale.
- Scanlon, Eamon.
- Smith, Brendan.
- Smyth, Niamh.
- Timmins, Edward.
- Toole, Gillian.
- Troy, Robert.
- Ward, Barry.
Níl
- Ahern, Ciarán.
- Bacik, Ivana.
- Bennett, Cathy.
- Boyd Barrett, Richard.
- Brady, John.
- Buckley, Pat.
- Byrne, Joanna.
- Carthy, Matt.
- Clarke, Sorca.
- Collins, Michael.
- Connolly, Catherine.
- Conway-Walsh, Rose.
- Coppinger, Ruth.
- Cronin, Réada.
- Crowe, Seán.
- Cullinane, David.
- Cummins, Jen.
- Daly, Pa.
- Devine, Máire.
- Doherty, Pearse.
- Donnelly, Paul.
- Farrelly, Aidan.
- Farrell, Mairéad.
- Fitzmaurice, Michael.
- Gannon, Gary.
- Gibney, Sinéad.
- Gogarty, Paul Nicholas.
- Graves, Ann.
- Guirke, Johnny.
- Hayes, Eoin.
- Healy, Seamus.
- Kelly, Alan.
- Kenny, Eoghan.
- Kenny, Martin.
- Lawless, Paul.
- Lawlor, George.
- Mac Lochlainn, Pádraig.
- McDonald, Mary Lou.
- McGettigan, Donna.
- McGrath, Mattie.
- McGuinness, Conor D.
- Mitchell, Denise.
- Murphy, Paul.
- Mythen, Johnny.
- Newsome Drennan, Natasha.
- Ní Raghallaigh, Shónagh.
- Nolan, Carol.
- O'Callaghan, Cian.
- O'Donoghue, Richard.
- O'Donoghue, Robert.
- O'Flynn, Ken.
- O'Gorman, Roderic.
- O'Hara, Louis.
- O'Reilly, Louise.
- O'Rourke, Darren.
- Ó Broin, Eoin.
- Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
- Ó Murchú, Ruairí.
- Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
- Ó Súilleabháin, Fionntán.
- Quaide, Liam.
- Quinlivan, Maurice.
- Rice, Pádraig.
- Sherlock, Marie.
- Smith, Duncan.
- Stanley, Brian.
- Tóibín, Peadar.
- Wall, Mark.
- Ward, Charles.
- Ward, Mark.
Staon
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Mary Butler and Emer Currie; Níl, Deputies Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Denise Mitchell.
Question declared carried.