Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her detailed response and very much welcome the commencement of the review to which she refers, which makes this Topical Iissue debate timely. She stated, "It is a matter for each housing authority to assess the need of each applicant household within the terms of the regulations," and then sets out the position under paragraphs (1) and (2) of regulation 22. The difficulty arises where a couple are not legally separated or divorced. A deed of separation is an agreement between two parties setting out the terms of the separation, often negotiated through a solicitor. It can be legally binding and includes items such as custody of children, maintenance obligations, ownership of the family home and liability for mortgage payments. However, these issues are not sorted out immediately, whereas the timeframe to which I am referring is the period immediately after the separation when the couple have gone their separate ways and before the deed of separation is prepared. The current regulations do not properly take account of this short period and we need some discretion to allow either the local authority, the community welfare officer or some other party to provide short-term support for those persons who find themselves in this situation.

I am glad the Minister of State referred to current economic conditions, on which I wish to pick up. In some circumstances, couples may have their deed of separation, but, owing to the depressed state of the property market, they cannot sell their property, even though it is on the market. While I hope this will not be a long-term problem, it is a problem for now. Again, flexibility in this regard is needed to get people through this very difficult period. I again thank the Minister of State.

See this speech in context