Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ellis for raising this matter. I found the issues he raised most interesting. Each housing authority is responsible, under section 58 of the Housing Act 1966, for the management and maintenance of its own housing stock. It would therefore be inappropriate for me to comment on management issues relating to particular dwellings, as I have no function in individual cases and under the Local Government Act 2001 local authorities are, subject to law, independent in the performance of their statutory functions. It would be inappropriate for me to comment on the two specific cases raised by Deputy Ellis.

I wish to set out the position on the law under which local authorities repossess their dwellings following termination of tenancies. Section 62 of the Housing Act 1966 currently sets out a summary court procedure for repossession. The procedure withstood constitutional challenges over the years but the enactment of the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 resulted in further challenges. The Supreme Court declared in February 2012 that section 62 was incompatible with the State's obligations under Article 8 of the Convention by reason of the absence of procedural safeguards where there is a factual dispute as to whether a tenancy has been properly terminated for breach of the tenancy agreement. Section 5 of the 2003 Act provides that a declaration of incompatibility does not affect the validity, continuing operation or enforcement of the statutory provision in respect of which it is made.

Nonetheless, I have reviewed section 62 of the 1966 Act in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and housing authorities and the housing (miscellaneous provisions) Bill currently being drafted provides for a revised procedure for repossessing local authority dwellings. The new procedure will involve an independent hearing on the merits of the proposed repossession where there is a dispute about the basis for terminating the tenancy, which is often the case where anti-social behaviour is involved. The housing Bill, which also provides for the new housing assistance payment and a new tenant purchase scheme for local authority housing along incremental purchase lines, will be published in the coming months with a view to being enacted by the summer. Deputies will therefore have an opportunity in the near future to debate fully the new procedure for recovering possession of local authority dwellings. The Bill will also include measures to strengthen the powers of housing authorities and approved housing bodies to secure court orders to exclude from their dwellings and estates individuals engaged in anti-social behaviour.

The legislation currently going through the Oireachtas will bring tenants of approved housing bodies under the remit of the PRTB. In future, we wish to bring local authority tenants under the same remit. While we have not been able to do everything in the one go, in principle we agree that it is the next step in the process.

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