Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 July 2017
1664. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the details of the amount spent on HAP each month in County Donegal in 2016 to June 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36085/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are currently over 24,700 households being supported by the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme in 31 local authority areas. The HAP scheme is funded through a combination of Exchequer monies and tenant differential rents collected in respect of HAP tenancies. The exchequer outturn for the HAP scheme in 2016 was in excess of €57 million. The majority of this funding supported the on-going costs of tenancies established in 2015 that continued into 2016, and the costs of the 12,075 new households supported by the scheme in 2016. Budget 2017 has increased the Exchequer funding for the HAP scheme to €152.7 million, in order to meet the continuing costs of existing HAP households, and the costs of the additional 15,000 households, targeted under Rebuilding Ireland, to be supported by HAP in 2017.
Limerick City and County Council provides a highly effective HAP transactional shared service on behalf of all local authorities. This HAP Shared Services Centre (SSC) manages all HAP related rental transactions for the tenant, local authority and landlord. Accordingly, my Department does not recoup individual local authorities in respect of HAP rental payments in their administrative areas but rather recoups all landlord cost via the HAP SSC. A breakdown of average HAP payments to landlords in each local authority area at 31 December 2016, and a breakdown of the number of households supported by HAP, in each local authority area at 31 December 2016 and at end Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 2017, are available on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision.
Donegal County Council has implemented and managed HAP very successfully in the county, where on average in 2017, 14 additional households each week are having their housing needs met by the scheme. There are currently more than 1,500 households actively supported by HAP in Donegal, including more than 600 households that have transferred directly from Rent Supplement. HAP continues to be an important and valuable tool in supporting households who need assistance with their long-term housing needs.
