Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 May 2018
455. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the efforts in place by his Department to allocate housing to the 76 housing applicants in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, who are on the housing list in the county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18847/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister, I am primarily responsible for the formulation and implementation of policy and for the preparation of legislation in relation to housing nationally. The day-to-day operation of the social housing system is a matter for the relevant local authority. The allocation of social housing support is a matter for the relevant local authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated regulations. Section 22 of the Act requires all housing 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.
Under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2009, I, as Minister, have no function in relation to the assessment of individual housing applications and the allocation of accommodation to eligible households, which are matters solely for housing authorities. Section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 specifically provides that the Minister’s power to issue policy directions and guidelines to housing authorities in relation to their housing functions shall not be construed as enabling him or her to exercise any power or control in relation to any individual case with which a housing authority is or may be concerned. More particularly, section 22(17) of the 2009 Act provides that the Minister’s statutory power to issue directions to a housing authority regarding the operation of its allocation scheme shall not be construed as enabling him or her to direct the allocation of a dwelling to a specific household.
In terms of meeting the need of households on waiting lists across the country, there are a range of social housing supports which qualified households may avail of in order to meet their housing needs. In addition to traditional social housing built and provided directly by local authorities, support is also provided via the private rental sector through the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) and through the voluntary sector via approved housing bodies.
Rebuilding Ireland set ambitious targets for social housing delivery. I have made it clear to local authorities that the delivery of social housing supports must be focussed on and consistent with their assessments of housing need, a process which now takes place on an annual basis.
Last year, an additional €500 million was secured during Budget 2018 negotiations, to increase the social housing delivery ambition from 47,000 to 50,000 social housing homes by end 2021. Combined with the target to deliver 88,000 tenancies under the HAP and RAS, this means that our total investment of €6 billion will meet the needs of over 138,000 individuals and families over the lifetime of the Rebuilding Ireland plan.
The implementation of Rebuilding Ireland is well underway and significant progress is being made with just under 45,000 households having had their social housing need met by the end of year 2 of the Plan, some 33% of those targeted. Details of output by local authority and by scheme are available on the statistics page of my Department's website at the following link:
http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/attachments/1a1-sh-overview-ann-final_2018_v3_3.xlsx
