John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising this issue, which I am dealing with on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, who cannot be here today. I will begin by addressing the last point that the Deputy raised regarding the delay in the processing of applications for HAP. The point he makes in that regard is a fair one and I will certainly take up that issue because local government is in my remit. A reduction in the processing time is an objective that can be achieved. That would greatly help people who are trying to put a roof over their heads.

The housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme plays a vital role in housing eligible families and individuals. There are currently more than 29,800 households having their housing needs met via HAP and more than 20,000 landlords and agents in receipt of HAP payments. A weekly average of 348 HAP tenancies have been set up during 2017 and over the past five weeks, the average rate has been more than 420 per week.

As part of an A Programme for a Partnership Government commitment, the HAP rent limits were increased significantly by the Government in July 2016, and by up to 60% in some areas. The Government also provided local authorities with statutory flexibility to exceed the maximum rent limit by up to a maximum of 20% where necessary, and 50% in the case of eligible homeless households in the Dublin region. Both of these measures are allowing HAP households to find suitable accommodation and willing landlords.

The local authority can determine, on a case-by-case basis, what level of support to provide, based on the tenant's current position and the needs of a household, as well as the market rents in that local area. It is also open to authorities to take a consistent approach in regard to the provision of discretion in particular high-demand areas or in regard to a particular household type that might be faced with a shortage of suitable property in the area in which they wish to live.

From available data, at the end of the second quarter of 2017 - excluding the additional discretion available to eligible homeless households in the Dublin region - 12.6% of HAP households nationally were benefitting from the flexibility introduced by the Government in 2016 to exceed the rent limits and the average level of payment agreed stood at 14.9% beyond the rent limits. In the administrative area of County Kildare, 432 of the 1,128 households supported by HAP at that point, or approximately one in three households, were benefitting from the additional flexibility, with the average level of payment being agreed at approximately 13% beyond the rent limits.

To address one of the particular difficulties in this area, local authorities are cognisant that increasing the HAP rent limits in particular areas could have further inflationary effects on the private rented sector, which could have a detrimental impact on the wider rental market, including for those households who are not receiving HAP support but are renting privately. In this respect, any changes to the HAP rent limits could have a significant knock-on effect on the other measures taken by the Government in regard to the wider rental market, such as the rent pressure zones that have been introduced to moderate rent increases in those parts of the country where rents are highest and rising, including Newbridge, Naas, the Deputy's area of Celbridge-Leixlip and Maynooth.

In general, HAP applicants should be sourcing accommodation within the rent limits and the discretion available. The data reported by local authorities show this is happening, by and large, and people who can benefit from HAP are able to access accommodation within the support limits in place.

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