Seán Ó Fearghaíl
Ceist:71. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Defence if he will report on his Department's engagement with Kildare County Council regarding the situation of overholders at the Curragh. [41176/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 24 November 2015
Ceisteanna (71)
Freagraí ó Béal (12 píosaí cainte)
My question is posed against the background of the continuing national housing emergency and the crisis in social and general housing provision. I seek to establish what the Minister is doing about the small number of families on the Curragh Camp classified by the Department as overholders and the level of engagement he has had on the matter with Kildare County Council.
Under military regulations, married quarters have, in the past, been allocated to serving personnel upon request. Personnel who leave the Defence Forces or who vacate a married quarter property that had been assigned to them are required under regulations to return vacant possession of that property. Where the property is not vacated, those remaining in the property are overholding and, given that they have no right under military regulations to hold or reside in military accommodation, the Department will, in accordance with normal procedures, continue to seek to recover possession over time.
While each case of overholding is dealt with on an individual basis, it is important to remember that the Department does not have a role in the provision of housing accommodation for the general public. The Department does, however, assist in whatever way it can in order to resolve the cases of overholding without recourse to legal action, as it is preferable not to have to use legal means to obtain vacant possession of the properties concerned. The securing of alternative housing is a matter for the individuals concerned in the first instance. If individuals are not in a position to secure housing in their own right, they may qualify for social housing or some level of housing assistance and, when requested to do so, the Department provides whatever documentation it can to support such applications.
My Department will deal with any overholder in a vulnerable position in a sensitive manner. However, the ongoing illegal occupation of Departmental property by those who have no entitlement to do so cannot be supported and the Department cannot subsidise housing for people who have no entitlement and who may well have the means to supply housing for themselves. The Department initiated discussions with Kildare County Council to determine whether there was a possibility of a joint initiative to provide solutions to the overholding issues in the Curragh. The council indicated at the time that due to budgetary constraints its policy is to lease suitable properties in order to provide accommodation for those who meet the criteria for social housing assistance. My Department will continue to remain open to considering any initiatives that might be put forward by the local authority in this regard. While we want to be as helpful as possible, there is a legal issue that means the Department of Defence cannot be a housing authority.
While nobody expects the Department of Defence to be a housing body, Kildare County Council has 6,757 social housing applicants, of which 39 cases including12 families with 35 children are in emergency accommodation. Last year, the Minister was to be commended on the role he took on behalf of his Department in addressing the homelessness crisis in Dublin when he offered accommodation at St. Bricin's Military Hospital in the aftermath of the tragic death of Jonathan Corrie not for from this House. Does the Minister not see a fundamental inconsistency in that, at a time of housing crisis, his Department would pressure people out of existing accommodation, notwithstanding the fact that many of them should have long since left the accommodation? If they did not leave the accommodation during the good times, to try to push them out during a housing emergency is unreasonable.
This is exactly why we are talking to Kildare County Council about trying to ensure they can move from accommodation that is not theirs into some form of supported housing, if they are in a vulnerable position, or social housing.
We have to move gradually towards recouping a property that belongs to the Department of Defence and is not the property of an individual. Of course people may want to stay for as long as they can in accommodation to which they would previously have been entitled. As I have said, we will try to deal with every case individually, to be as fair as we can and to support people who are vulnerable. I have to signal that we have a legal obligation to deal with a property that in many cases is not the property of the tenant.
This is an age-old problem. When I was a member of the local authority many years ago, we operated a policy of allocating 10% of all social housing units built in the area surrounding the Curragh to people who were overholders at that stage. There continued to be a problem. I am asking the Minister explicitly to back off from pressurising people out of their homes for the duration of this housing emergency. Will the Department speak to Kildare County Council about the possibility of a lease arrangement in respect not only of those houses that are currently occupied, but also the many houses owned by the Department that are capable of being used to meet the emergency situation that exists in County Kildare? The Department of Defence quite rightly made a contribution to the homeless crisis in Dublin. I am asking it to make a contribution to the social housing crisis in County Kildare for the duration of that crisis only.
There are 26 overholders residing in or near the Curragh Camp. We are looking at them all individually. We will try to be as supportive as we can but we cannot put in place some kind of blanket arrangement that ignores the presence in these houses of people who should not be in them and allows them to stay in those houses indefinitely simply because there is a housing crisis in some parts of the country.
Why not?
The Department is not a housing body. Many people who are on housing lists at the moment would love to be living in this accommodation but are not.
I am asking for this to be done for the duration of the crisis.
There may well be some overholders who can afford to rent or potentially buy their own properties. Is the Deputy saying it is okay for them to stay for as long as they want? We will try to take a fair and compassionate approach to people who are in vulnerable positions. We have been doing that. We have been reaching out to Kildare County Council to work in partnership with us on that. The council has said it has a funding challenge in this regard. We are open to proposals. If the Deputy has a proposal as opposed to simply saying we should go away and not do anything, I would like to hear it.
I have given the Minister two proposals.
That will get the Deputy through the election.