Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

Persons, including former prisoners, who are unable to provide housing for themselves from their own resources are entitled to apply for social housing provided either by a local authority or a voluntary body. It is a matter for individual local authorities to decide on the allocation of tenancies to various categories of needs on their waiting lists in accordance with their schemes of letting priorities. My Department has not been approached by housing authorities to facilitate the development of guidelines for the housing of particular categories of former prisoners, nor is it clear that such guidelines would be advisable or practicable having regard to the complex and variable circumstances which might be involved in particular cases.

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