Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I will give some further information on HAP which will be of interest to the committee members. Of the 31 local authorities, 18 are now administering the housing assistance payment scheme. We are extending that by taking three or four local authorities at a time. Obviously, training and resourcing are needed. At the current rate, between 150 and 200 housing applicants are transferring into the HAP scheme per week. Even at the current rate, without extending the scheme as we intend to do, we will comfortably meet the 10,000 target for the HAP scheme for 2016. It is working quite well in those local authorities, but the intention is to extend it further.

The Senator raised an important question on voids. Some local authorities have existing housing stock not categorised as void and rather almost categorised as derelict, having gone beyond the normal interventions to turn a void around. We are planning on making further provision in 2016 under our remedial works and regeneration schemes to address that stock. There will be measurement indicators. We will ask local authorities to come back in terms of maintenance of stock. Some local authorities are better than others. Some maintain their existing stock very well and there is no need for large-scale investment in derelict or regeneration programmes. However, others have neglected maintenance programmes in their housing stock and we want to see that improved. We are now providing the funding to get that stock back into use.

I reiterate a worrying statistic. In the case of some local authorities with quite substantial housing waiting lists, more than 40% of people are refusing the offer of a house. We must recognise the underlying problems in this regard. It is not just about the house; there may be anti-social issues in an estate, etc. It behoves all of us, including the local authorities and the Department, to identify and address those problems. That refusal rate is too high and we need to see those houses being taken up. Choice-based letting is one way to address it but there is also a need for interventions by local authorities to improve estates so that people want to move into those houses.

We recognise those challenges and we want to fund and resource local authorities to address them.