Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 15 December 2020

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

Housing Assistance Payment: Discussion

Photo of Mary FitzpatrickMary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms O'Reilly. If we look in 2020 at a survey from back in 2019, Covid has had a dramatic impact. Our homes and living space have become more important to all of us. There has been a big change in Dublin, in particular. A year ago people could not get landlords to take the HAP or they could only do so with great difficulty. With the arrival of the Covid pandemic, foreign students disappeared, students from the country went back home to study from home and people working in Dublin who came from the country and who were advised to work from home moved home. In the past three to six months I have seen a big increase in the availability of private rented accommodation on a HAP basis. Do the witnesses agree with that?

Second, in terms of the other issues the witnesses addressed, security of tenure is a very difficult issue to get around when it is private rented accommodation. How do the witnesses think that could be addressed without removing control of the property from the landlord? On the deposit and the first month's rent, I agree with the witnesses. That is a big issue for many people in securing the HAP tenancy. Homeless HAP provides that. In my experience in Dublin over the past 12 months, the homeless HAP payment has made it significantly easier for private rental tenants to secure accommodation, but they are almost being forced into becoming homeless to qualify for homeless HAP and to get the 20% uplift and the first month's rent and deposit. Do the witnesses agree with that?

Regarding discrimination, did I hear correctly that 11 cases were taken? If so, out of 60,000, is that accurately reflecting a very small problem? I agree that a full review must be undertaken and that is why I asked how many people had participated in the survey. While 116 is certainly informative, it is not a huge sample out of a potential tenancy base of 60,000 to 70,000. When suggesting a review of HAP, what sample size is suggested for it to be comprehensive? I agree that the review must be undertaken because we will have the HAP in the future and half a billion or more is being spent on it. We need to manage this quite effectively. I would appreciate answers to those questions.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.