Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will conclude with two quick questions. First, can the departmental officials tell us where the Department is at with the resourcing of the quality standards framework office? Second, the crucial problem with HAP in all local authorities other than South Dublin County Council is that it leads to families being taken off the principal choice-based letting allocation system. One local authority has made a change to ensure families do not lose their crucial places on the allocation system. Will the Department seriously consider changing the HAP rules to allow all local authorities to do what South Dublin County Council is doing? Such a move would resolve the central problem with the current approach to HAP, which was adding six years to the wait for a council house in south Dublin, in addition to the 11-year waiting time that exists anyway. I think the Department should recommend this very simple change, which does not require legislation, to all local authorities.