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

There is a statutory definition of "overcrowding" in the Housing Act 1966. During the previous Oireachtas, we had a public hearing that dealt with the issue in part. Mr. Brendan Kenny spoke to that when he was director of housing. He made the case that it was adequate but many of us believe it needs updating to take consideration of modern standards.

The Cathaoirleach also asked about adequacy. There are legal instruments where property can be deemed unfit for human habitation, for example, and the courts can use that to force remediation or evacuation. There are, separately, some minimum standards in the private rental sector but they are very minimal. There are also standards for the inspections of HAP properties after a HAP tenant moves in. The straight answer to the Cathaoirleach's question is that there is probably an argument for those three areas to be revisited. I am not sure whether it would be wise to include them in a homeless prevention Bill because they have a wider application than preventing homelessness. The key defining feature here relates to situations in which people know they have to be out of their current residence at a particular point. Take, for example, somebody who is in State care or somebody who is in prison. We have in-reach and aftercare programmes through our NGOs. However, there is an argument to say that if people know they have to be out of a property at a certain point, and if they have no reasonable accommodation to occupy, that is what this Bill is trying to capture.

Domestic violence is listed on the second page of the Bill. We could have a situation where the only option for a person is to remain in a property with a partner who is involved in domestic violence and coercive control. Such a person should clearly be seen as at risk of homelessness, and the Bill tries to capture that.