Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy, who has made practical points that I take wholeheartedly. If people in a property have young children who are in a local school, the property in question is their home. That is the logic of it. The Deputy referred to Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council. A body of work is under way there. Obviously, the Deputy will allow the councils to do that work and see how it develops. The tenantin situscheme was brought in for that specific purpose - to cater for people who are on HAP or RAS. As the Deputy is aware, in areas where local authorities are very close to one another, such as in Dublin, people could end up renting just inside the boundary of another local authority. I hope the two local authorities in question will come to an understanding. I ask the Deputy to provide feedback on that. We are interacting with all the local authorities.

Housing for All is a clear priority for the Government and we are committed to delivering on targets across all pathways of the plan. The provision of individual local authority targets and the development of housing delivery action plans to address delivery through the next five years has introduced a more strategic approach to housing delivery. Local authorities are working closely with approved housing body, AHB, delivery partners and the Land Development Agency to develop a pipeline to ensure we meet these targets. The increase of up to 1,500 social housing acquisitions will allow local authorities to focus on properties where a tenant in receipt of social housing supports, namely, HAP or RAS, has received a notice of termination.Local authorities will have to adopt a common sense approach with regard to where people are living and the configuration of the household, taking into account factors such as where the children are in school. Local authorities have delegated sanction to deliver the 1,300 additional acquisitions, subject to the acquisition cost guidelines, and will collaborate with each other as inter-authority acquisitions cases arise. The Department has worked closely with the CCMA to prioritise this initiative with a focus on the prevention of homelessness and will continue to work closely with local authorities, the CCMA, and all key stakeholders to ensure the success of this programme.

If issues arise, I ask the Deputy to come to us with them. We are here to assist.

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