Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Before I address amendments Nos. 39 and 40, I want to reiterate the concerns expressed by other speakers in regard to this section and the assumption that people's housing needs will be met through HAP. People will be removed from local authority waiting lists regardless of whether they may wish to enter into a short-term arrangement as a step towards being accommodated on a more permanent basis in local authority housing. There are fears that what is proposed might distort the figures and may not allow people to understand the real issues at hand. Currently, a large number of landlords are withdrawing from schemes like RAS, which means that families who thought they may have able to make their lives in the same location could be on the verge of becoming homeless and councils will be obliged to find alternative accommodation for them.

Amendment No. 39 provides that tenants housed under an assistance scheme run by the State through local authorities shall receive priority for housing should they lose their homes because of unaffordable rents. This is a fair recognition of responsibility authorities bear to people which they may have failed to house securely. It also gives an impetus to the authorities to ensure there is as much security as possible in the private tenancies they oversee.

In regard to amendment No. 40, the Minister of State indicated that HAP tenants who are removed from housing waiting lists and lose their status of having a housing need will be allowed to put their names on a transfer list. However, people could languish on transfer lists for years. Some local authorities do not even maintain transfer lists, while the transfer lists maintained by other authorities contain conditions that would cause problems for HAP tenants who simply want social housing. The amendment would require the Minister to introduce guidelines for housing authorities on the operation of a transfer system to ensure the system operates as smoothly as possible and that the tenants are not put out in any way.