Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The recent increase in homelessness is of great concern to me and to the Government, as it is to all Members of the House. I assure the House that we are doing everything in our power to tackle this problem. As the Deputy is aware, I established the national homeless action committee, which I chair and which is made up of representatives from my Department, all the State agencies and the NGOs, to ensure that we address prevention and exits from homelessness. In addition to the measures already in place, to get to the Deputy’s specific question, I am working with my Government colleagues and with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to provide for an increase in the housing assistance payment, HAP, discretionary rate to 35%. This has been agreed by the Government and will be implemented shortly. The couple’s rate will also be extended to single persons for new tenancies. This again is another significant change and it will secure more tenancies and prevent more entries into homelessness.

Furthermore, in the Seanad this week, I will bring forward some changes to the notice-to-quit period to alleviate some of these pressures. The Government also recently approved a pilot expansion that will open the repair and lease scheme to a wider range of owners. These properties will be available for social housing. My Department has also approved the reintroduction of the place finder fee incentive by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, DRHE. This will be payable where suitable properties are made available exclusively to homeless families through the DRHE place finders team and not advertised on websites or elsewhere. Targeted measures such as these, along with the provision of more homes, and the crucial point is that we must increase the supply of social homes, are key to meeting the challenge of eradicating homelessness. To this end, as the Deputy will know, we are investing significantly in social and affordable housing, with record funding allocated for current and capital expenditure this year.

See this speech in context