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

In respect of this important matter, applications for social housing support, as Deputy McAuliffe knows, are set by each local authority, and that is governed by the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. Generally, it is not possible for a household previously on one social housing waiting list to carry over the time spent on the list when applying to another local authority. A new and separate application form would be required and assessed against the eligibility, including income limits and the criteria of which the Deputy will be aware. If deemed eligible, the applicant household will qualify for a suite of supports, including HAP, as he mentioned. Local authorities will prioritise allocations to those households they consider to be most in need and that can include survivors of domestic violence. Notwithstanding this, the programme for Government provides for a package of social housing reforms.

I will continue my contribution in my supplementary reply, but this is an area we are actively looking at and we should look at it in the context of discretion in each local authority area, not least for survivors of domestic, gender-based and sexual violence. The social housing passport is being looked at as well, although there are complexities as to how that will be administered. Many survivors need to leave where they are for their own safety and all of us, I am sure, have dealt with cases such as this. I am glad the Deputy raised the issue. We can point to the area of discretion in each local authority area in the context of priorities.

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