Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)

This has been an issue for many of us across the House over the past couple of months. It has been flagged repeatedly by Government TDs as well as Opposition TDs. I would like to specifically talk about Cork city and county. Some 33 families in Cork city and around the same number in Cork county are currently in limbo. They are unsure what is happening with their applications for the tenant in situ scheme. I have seen the various pieces of correspondence between Departments and the local authorities over the past eight months.

Having read that correspondence it was quite clear to me that there was permission for the local authorities to exceed their initial allocations by up to 50%. Both Cork City Council and Cork County Council have taken advantage of that and tried to progress additional applications for the tenant in situ scheme. I understand why the Department of housing and the Department of public expenditure might have concerns about the way the scheme is being utilised by some local authorities, which were perhaps covering up for their own shortcomings in other areas of housing delivery and used the scheme to get out of the fix in which they found themselves. However, I can safely say that was not the case in either Cork City Council or Cork County Council where the scheme was utilised in the spirit in which it was intended, such as cases of families in danger of becoming homeless and going into emergency accommodation. Cork City Council and Cork County Council are, unfortunately, being punished because every local authority in the country has been tarred with the one brush. If the scheme is to be tightened up I would prefer that to be focused on the local authorities that are not doing their job and that are letting the side down, rather than punishing local authorities like Cork City Council and Cork County Council. By any metric – be it social housing delivery, affordable housing delivery or the delivery of private homes - both Cork City Council and Cork County Council have delivered. That is patently clear from the available figures.

I am deeply disappointed because, like all Deputies here, I am dealing with people in clinics weekly, many of whom are on the tenant in situ scheme and waiting for it to be unpaused, which is essentially what has happened in both Cork City Council and Cork County Council. The sale of approximately 30 properties is currently paused in both local authorities. It is only a matter of time before the landlords get fed up and enforce the eviction notices. More than likely, the properties will be sold privately and the tenants will have to enter emergency accommodation. We must get our act together in the coming weeks. I have spoken to the Taoiseach, the Minister for housing and the Minister for public expenditure about this and I believe a resolution is on the way, but while we wait for it to be introduced I fear that more families will not avail of the scheme and more local authorities will not be able to draw down funds for the scheme, which is unfortunately likely to lead to more families going into emergency accommodation. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State could give me an update on the resumption of the scheme, which has effectively been paused in both Cork City Council and Cork County Council.

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