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

-----with the assistance of Threshold. It is a response to what has been described to us as an urgent issue. People were losing their homes because rents were being increased and they were no longer meeting the cap requirements. The measure is being put in place to deal with that issue.

In terms of the specific amendments, under the rent supplement scheme people source their own accommodation, and the intention is that this would continue under the HAP system. However, that does not stop local authorities from assisting. I know that in some cases the homeless officers, in particular, have phone numbers of landlords and information on accommodation possibilities.

Organisations in the voluntary sector - Focus Ireland, the Simon Community, etc. - also help people to source accommodation. There is a proposal in respect of the Dublin area that a group of those organisations will come together with the specific aim of sourcing accommodation in the private rented sector. There is already a similar scheme in place in Cork.

I am not opposed to the provision of assistance. If we included in the legislation an obligation for local authorities to source accommodation, that would allow local authority officials to discover how difficult it is to do so, but I do not believe it would speed up the process. I am of the view that it would actually slow matters down when people are seeking to access accommodation under the HAP process. It is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure that the housing chosen by recipients under the scheme meets the relevant accommodation standard and that the landlords of these properties are tax-compliant.

I do not know if it will prove to be of any assistance in the context of the debate that previously took place, but I wish to point out that if a household has qualified for social housing support but cannot source appropriate accommodation in the private rented sector under HAP, the relevant housing authority - within current supply constraints - retains a general level of responsibility in terms of providing an appropriate form of housing support for the household. On one hand, Deputy Ellis is stating that he is concerned about access to local authority housing for people in receipt of the HAP, while on the other he is stating that it is going to be impossible to source accommodation for those in receipt of the payment. I assure him that where it is not possible to source accommodation, local authorities retain a general level of responsibility to provide people with an appropriate form of social housing. This will ensure that people's rights will be upheld.

I am not minimising the problems that exist and I am aware of their serious nature. The entire purpose of the HAP is not to make matters worse but rather to facilitate people in getting out of poverty traps, etc. The alternative is to retain the system that is already in place, with people receiving rent supplement for years. It must be remembered that rent supplement was designed as a short-term measure and that people lose it if they obtain employment. We are trying to reform the system but I accept that there are huge supply issues. I also accept that there is need for reform in other areas, particularly with regard to the rights of tenants in the private rented sector. We are working on a number of things in this regard. Describing the problem will not solve it. We must try to find various measures that will address the problem.

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