Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree totally with Deputy Casey, and I agree with the points made by the witnesses. The private rented market has been taken away from local authorities. If one wants to apply for housing assistance payment, HAP, one has to go to Cork. If one wants to get on the housing list, one might be waiting for up to six weeks before getting an appointment. In an emergency, that should be done automatically and within a week. The landlord must then fill out the HAP form. As that form goes to Cork, it again is taken from the local authority. Do the witnesses think that in the future, the Department should return those powers to the local authorities? They used to look after all of the different rental schemes, such as rent allowance. For one's first-time deposit, one must now apply to a social welfare office. If someone comes to one's clinic and it is their first time applying for the housing list, they must now be sent to social welfare. Everything is mixed up. The local authorities should be given back the power to deal with all these situations.

The Government is looking at private arrangements. It is looking at Clúid, housing co-operatives and all the different private housing bodies. That is not the way forward. We need to build local authority houses, ensuring that extra staff are put into every local authority in the country and that they have all the powers necessary until this emergency housing crisis is over in order that it can be dealt with quickly. There is nothing as quick as a local authority that can deal with the housing lists and HAP in its own area.

The Minister is now setting a cap. If one earns more that €26,500 one cannot go on a local authority housing list and therefore will not receive the HAP payments. We are technically making these people homeless, because they are then in rented accommodation and they cannot afford to get a house or go on the housing list. A whole new type of homelessness exists which is not being addressed. Are these issues the witnesses believe the local authorities need to look at?