Written Answers Nos. 341-348
341. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if it is a requirement of the tenant purchase scheme that an applicant's income must be derived from work in cases in which the combined social welfare and private pension income is more than €15,000 a year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29473/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum and having been in receipt of social housing support for at least one year.
The minimum reckonable income for eligibility under the scheme is determined by the relevant local authority in accordance with the detailed provisions of the Ministerial Direction issued under Sections 24(3) and (4) of the 2014 Act. In the determination of the minimum reckonable income, local authorities include income from a number of different sources and classes, such as from employment, private pensions, maintenance payments and certain social welfare payments, including pensions, where the social welfare payment is secondary to employment income.
In determining reckonable income, the income of all tenants of the house, including adult children that are joint tenants, is included, as is the income of the spouse, civil partner or other partner / co-habitant of a tenant who lives in the house with them, thus ensuring the appropriate level of discount is applied to the purchase price.
The minimum income criterion was introduced in order to ensure the sustainability of the scheme. Applicants must demonstrate that they have an income that is long-term and sustainable in nature. This ensures that the tenant purchasing the house is in a financial position, as the owner, to maintain and insure the property for the duration of the charged period, in compliance with the conditions of the order transferring the ownership of, and responsibility for, the house from the local authority to the tenant.
In line with the commitment given in Rebuilding Ireland, a review of the first 12 months of the Scheme’s operation has been undertaken. The review has incorporated analysis of comprehensive data received from local authorities regarding the operation of the scheme during 2016 and a wide-ranging public consultation process which took place in 2017 and saw submissions received from individuals, elected representatives and organisations.
The review is now complete and a full report has been prepared setting out findings and recommendations. In finalising the report some further consultation was necessary and due consideration had to be given to possible implementation arrangements. These matters are now almost completed and I expect to be in a position to publish the outcome of the review shortly.
342. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the supports and services in place for persons in the Dublin City Council area who move from the rent supplement payment to the housing assistance payment when they take up full-time work after a period of unemployment and retraining; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29487/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn relation to Housing suports, any household assessed as eligible for social housing is immediately eligible for housing support through the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme. Once a household has been deemed eligible for social housing support, it is a matter for the local authority to examine the suite of social housing supports available, including the HAP scheme, to determine the most appropriate form of social housing support for that household in the administrative area of that local authority. Administration of the scheme is a matter for the relevant Local Authority.
HAP provides fast, flexible housing support to households in an area of their choice. Individuals with a housing need, who in the past were reluctant to avail of full time work as they would lose their Rent Supplement (RS) support, can now move to HAP and avail of full-time work and retain their housing support, with an adjustment in their differential rent.
HAP will replace RS for those with a long term housing need, who qualify for social housing support. However, RS will remain available through the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) to households as a short-term income support. The strategic aim is to complete the transfers from long term rent supplement to HAP by 2020, as outlined in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness.
I continue to keep the operation of HAP under review but I am currently satisfied with how the scheme is operating and I consider it to be a key vehicle for meeting current housing need and fulfilling the ambitious programme set out in Rebuilding Ireland.
343. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the records that are kept of families that have had to seek emergency housing provision in Garda stations throughout the country in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29490/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and associated services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities, consequently the specific data sought in the Question is not available in my Department and is a matter for the relevant housing authorities.
The DRHE has informed my Department that additional contingency accommodation has been introduced in the Dublin region to avoid the need for any family to present to a Garda station.
344. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of persons who have received the HAP, both homeless HAP and regular HAP, since its inception; and the number of those who have subsequently presented again as homeless to their local authorities when their HAP tenancies expired. [29521/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) provides fast, flexible housing support to households in an area of their choice. HAP supported tenancies are agreed between the landlord and the tenant; the local authority is not a party to the tenancy and has no role in its agreement. There is no limitation placed by the scheme on the length of tenancy that can be supported by HAP. However, as with other private rental tenancies, the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended) governs the relationship between landlord and tenant and the length of the tenancy is a matter that must be agreed between the landlord and tenant in that context.
The Homeless HAP Place Finder Service operating in the Dublin local authorities, and in Cork City Council, is a targeted support for homeless households who are finding it difficult to secure HAP tenancies. The Place Finder Service has been successfully utilised by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DRHE) across the Dublin local authorities since February 2015, with more than 3,000 households currently being supported by the Homeless HAP scheme. A similar service began operating in Cork City in 2017.
In order to further assist homeless households in exiting emergency accommodation, since January 2018, the Homeless HAP Place Finder Service has been made available in each of the 31 local authority areas. All local authorities are now being provided with the options to pay deposits and advance rental payments for any households in emergency homeless accommodation, in order to secure accommodation via the HAP scheme.
To qualify for these specific additional supports available to homeless households, a household must have been determined by the relevant local authority to be homeless within the meaning of section 2 of the Housing Act 1988. The operation of local homeless services, including the Place Finder Service, is a matter for each local authority.
Since the inception of HAP in 2014, more than 45,200 households have been supported including over 3,000 homeless households who received additional supports through the Homeless HAP Scheme. A breakdown of the number of households supported by HAP in each local authority area at the end of Quarter 4 2017 is 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.
At the end of Q1 2018 a total of 5,938 households were reported as having exited HAP, this included tenant led exits; compliance exits; transfers to other forms of social housing and landlord exits. This report is based on cessations as submitted by local authorities. Reasons for cessations are typically provided by the tenant and/or landlord.
In cases where a HAP supported tenancy comes to an end, the tenant can find alternative accommodation and retain their eligibility for HAP support or the local authority may decide to offer another form of social housing support to the tenant in accordance with their scheme of letting priorities. My Department does not have details of such activity.
I continue to keep the operation of HAP under review but I am currently satisfied with how the scheme is operating and I consider it to be a key vehicle for meeting current housing need and fulfilling the ambitious programme set out in Rebuilding Ireland.
345. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if all recommendations of the Moriarty tribunal have been implemented; the recommendations that are outstanding; and when they will be implemented. [29040/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012 (the "2012 Act"), which was enacted on 28 July 2012, significantly enhanced the openness and transparency of political funding in Ireland. These were issues that were central to the recommendations made in the Moriarty Tribunal Report which was published in March 2011. Ultimately, the 2012 Act comprehensively addressed these core issues while also having regard to Government commitments at that time as well as recommendations from the Council of Europe Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) and the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) on other related matters.
The Tribunal recommended that all political donations, apart from those under a modest threshold, be reported and published. Under the 2012 Act, which amended the Electoral Act 1997, the threshold at which donations must be declared by a political party to SIPO fell from €5,078.95 to €1,500. The declaration threshold for a donation received by a candidate or an elected representative was reduced from €634.87 to €600. In addition, a limit of €200 was placed on donations in cash.
The threshold for the receipt of anonymous donations was reduced to €100. The donation threshold amount that gives rise to the requirement to open a political donations account was also reduced to €100. Anonymous indirect donations were banned under the 2012 Act. There was a reduction from €5,078.95 to €200 in the threshold at which donations must be reported by companies, trade unions, societies and building societies in their annual reports or returns. In addition, the threshold for donors other than companies, trade unions, societies and building societies, in reporting donations to SIPO was reduced from €5,078.95 to €1,500 for aggregate donations given in the same year.
The Moriarty Tribunal in its Report also noted that the desirability and feasibility of a complete ban on private political funding is pre-eminently a matter for the Houses of the Oireachtas and for public debate and consideration, having regard to constitutional issues that might arise, and to the national financial exigencies. With reference to this comment in the Tribunal Report, a noteworthy provision in the Act is the introduction of a ban on the acceptance of donations over €200 for political purposes from a corporate donor unless the donor has registered with SIPO. In this instance, the objective was to restrict the influence of corporate donors. Such donations also need to be accompanied by a statement confirming that the donation has been approved by a general meeting of the members of the body, or by its trustees. By restricting corporate donations in this manner, the 2012 Act went beyond the recommendations made by the Tribunal.
The 2012 Act provides for a reduction in the maximum amount that can be accepted as a political donation by an individual from €2,539.48 to €1,000. This €1,000 limit applies in respect of donations to a member of either House of the Oireachtas, a Member of the European Parliament or a member of a local authority, as well as a candidate at a Presidential, Dáil, Seanad, European Parliament or local election. The maximum amount that can be accepted as a donation by a political party, an accounting unit of a political party or a third party has been reduced from €6,348.69 to €2,500. In addition, the 2012 Act provides that political parties are required to submit audited annual accounts to SIPO for publication. This requirement also goes beyond the Moriarty Tribunal recommendation by providing that both the income and expenditure of political parties is reported and open to public scrutiny.
346. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the targets for social and affordable housing in each of the years 2018 to 2027; and the estimated capital spending targets required to deliver the social and affordable housing targets for the same period in tabular form. [29563/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraDetails of social housing targets, broken down by individual local authority, across build, acquisition and leasing, for the period 2018 to 2021 are available on the Rebuilding Ireland website at the following link: http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/minister-murphy-publishes-social-housing-delivery-targets-for-local-authorities-2018-2021/.
More broadly, the National Development Plan 2018-2027, provides for the delivery of 112,000 new social homes over the next decade. These 112,000 new social homes will be delivered through a range of mechanisms, including build, long term leasing and acquisitions.
It should be noted that the delivery of the 112,000 new social housing homes over the next decade does not include housing supports that will be provided to households under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme or the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS). HAP and RAS will continue to offer additional flexible housing solutions across the period to 2021 ensuring that, over the lifetime of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan, over 137,000 households will have their housing need met.
As reflected in the National Development Plan 2018-2027, some €11.6 billion in capital funding will be provided for the delivery of social homes. The specific capital allocations underpinning the various social housing delivery programmes for each year out to 2027 will be determined in the context of the annual estimates process and will reflect the blend of delivery methods and approaches required to deliver on the targets set out in the National Development Plan.
As regards the delivery of affordable homes to buy or rent, from engagements with the local authorities in Dublin, the wider Greater Dublin Area, as well as Cork and Galway cities, their initial estimates suggest that they have lands with the potential to deliver some 4,000 new affordable homes. My Department is continuing to work with the key local authorities and the Housing Agency to identify sites which would see the level of ambition increase to at least 10,000 new affordable homes from local authority owned land, and that analysis is progressing well.
In order to support local authorities to get their sites ready for affordable housing, I have decided to provide additional funding for enabling infrastructure via the Serviced Sites Fund, by re-directing the €50 million funding for Phase 2 of the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund to the Fund, thereby increasing its scale from the previously announced €25 million to €75 million. When local authority co-funding is included, an overall minimum investment of €100 million will be provided to those sites that require infrastructural investment in order for them to be brought into use for affordable housing. The call for proposals under the Serviced Site Fund issued last week.
347. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of times his Department has engaged polling companies and-or Irish market researchers to conduct research on its behalf in each of the past two years; the names of such companies; the costs associated with same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29577/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has engaged a company on one occasion in the past two years to conduct research on its behalf, details of which are set out in the following table.
|
Name of Polling Company or Irish Market Researchers Engaged |
Year |
Costs Involved |
|
Ipsos MRBI |
2017 |
€75,000 |
The research in question is part of a joint project with the Department of Finance focused on a behavioural examination of renters' attitudes towards tenure.
348. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of planning permissions for housing that were extended for five years on the basis of section 42A(1)(ii) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (details supplied) in each of the years 2016, 2017 and to date in 2018; the number of housing units that were impacted, by local authority, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29592/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraPlanning statistics compiled annually by planning authorities for collation and publication on my Department’s website do not include a breakdown on the number of planning permissions for housing developments that were extended for 5 years on the basis of section 42A(1)(ii) of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended.
Such information may be sought directly from the relevant planning authority, as appropriate.
