Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

51. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views on the March 2022 homelessness report of his Department. [22549/22]

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Since the Minister ended the blanket ban on evictions in April of last year, the number of adults and children in Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage-funded emergency accommodation has increased almost every month. The latest figures for March show that we have almost 10,000 adults and children in emergency accommodation. Can the Minister give his response to the latest report from his Department and outline what actions he is going to take in the coming days, weeks and months to halt and reverse this trend?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his question. It is an important one. A priority for me as Minister is to continue tackling the serious problem that is homelessness. The continuing increase in the numbers, which I flagged a number of months ago and which was to be expected, is of serious concern to me as I know it is to the Deputy. The Government, local authorities and others are making every effort to reduce homelessness. I will go through some more details shortly. Key to this is the delivery of new social housing and boosting overall supply. I want a housing-led response to homelessness. That is what we are focused on.

We are investing significantly in social and affordable housing, with record funding allocated for current and capital expenditure this year alone. This year, funding is in place to deliver 11,800 new social homes, including 9,000 new builds. That is the highest number in any given year in the history of the State and is thus building on the progress we made last year when, even with Covid, we delivered 9,183 new social homes, a 17% increase on 2020.

More specifically, I have established the national homeless action committee, a standing committee within Government made up of NGOs, me and representatives from other relevant Departments, reflecting a whole-of-government approach. Its initial key priorities are the advancement of additional measures to prevent homelessness and work on the youth homelessness strategy. There will be a voids programme for 2022 with an emphasis on quick turnaround and reletting of vacant social housing stock to those on social housing waiting lists, including those in emergency accommodation. I want a specific focus on that and discussed it with our main local authorities recently. I also reinstated the delegated sanction to local authorities in respect of social housing acquisitions that meet certain criteria. This will allow local authorities more flexibility to secure acquisitions that support a household to exit homelessness or to prevent homelessness.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. Part of the problem is that many of the things he is outlining are not going to be coming on-stream, particularly for those who are in emergency accommodation for very long periods. The driving causes of homelessness are the shrinking nature of the private rental sector, increasing numbers of vacant possession notices to quit, increasing presentations and a dramatic fall-off in the number of exits both for single people and families. If we look at exits from homelessness in Dublin, for example, there was an average of 141 per month in 2019 and 186 per month in 2020, falling to 58 in 2021 and to 30 or 40 a month this year. That trend is going to continue. Nothing the Minister has outlined to date is going to address that trend in the short to medium term.

I am very concerned with the latest circular the Minister has issued to local authorities. I do not believe it gives adequate flexibility. It is too rigid and will only result potentially in a very small number of people being prevented from falling into homelessness through the tenant in situscheme. I urge the Minister to be more flexible and to engage with the Opposition to ensure the measure does much more in the weeks and months ahead.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. To conclude my initial response, I also want to refer to mortgage to rent, which is a very important mechanism for preventing homelessness. Last year, I made some significant changes which came into effect from 14 February of this year. Last year, 678 borrowers availed of the mortgage to rent scheme. We are targeting 1,000 this year and in each year onwards and I think we will exceed that. It is really important that we increase supply and I am going to do that significantly this year.

To respond to the Deputy's question on acquisitions, the circular was issued and changes made in consultation with the local authorities and the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA. I want to put on the record of the House that I particularly asked local authorities to look at the tenant in situsituation, particularly in respect of housing assistance payment, HAP, and rental accommodation scheme, RAS, tenants, to see where we can prevent it and also making sure there is no distortion. I do get criticism from time to time in respect of an expanded acquisition programme that we are competing with first-time buyers. That circular was done in conjunction with the local authorities. I want to see how it works and am committed to doing it. While I am not convinced that it is inadequate in any way and want to see it work, I will also say to the Deputy that if we need to tweak it as we move forward I can assure him I will be happy to do that in conjunction with Opposition parties also.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The difficulty with the circular is twofold. First, the language indicates that it applies only when the household is deemed to be at risk of homelessness, for example when they are eligible for homeless HAP, which would be six weeks out from their notice to quit. That is far too late in the day to intervene. Second, under the previous tenant in situscheme there was greater flexibility. Dublin City Council, for example, would have acquired properties for households at risk of homelessness who were on the housing list five years.. For Kildare, even lower in my own local authority, it was about eight years. This circular is being interpreted as applying only where a tenant would otherwise have a successful allocation of accommodation, so ten to 14 years on the list, and only when they are imminently at risk of homelessness, so six weeks out. That is far too rigid. The private rental sector has become so constrained that there is virtually nothing out there, as the Minister knows, for those families who have notices to quit. I urge the Minister to sit down and meet with Opposition spokespeople to tease out how to make the wording of the circular more flexible to prevent families from becoming homeless and to reduce those increased presentation numbers from next month and the months immediately after that.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

This is a mechanism that we want to see work. The Deputy referred to the tenants in situ scheme in Dublin City Council, which it effectively ran itself. It has not been precluded from operating that scheme. We need to balance what we are doing to make sure those waiting for a long time on the list will not be waiting even longer. This is a preventive measure. I want to see it work. I have been really clear with the local authorities. I have had two housing summits with them recently. These summits involved all chief executives and directors of services in all 31 local authorities. I attended the summits and addressed both meetings. I am in regular contact with the local authorities, particularly the ten larger ones. With regard to Dublin City Council in particular, it is in the four Dublin local authority areas that homelessness and the risk thereof are most predominant. I am happy to examine this as it moves on. I can give the Deputy that assurance.

In 2021, we had 5,234 exits from and preventions of homelessness. There was significant work done in that regard. We have an issue with a shrunken rental market. It would be interesting to hear the views and policies of the Deputy and his party on how to retain landlords within the system. We need to retain individual landlords within the system, which may require tax measures. I am assuming I will have the Deputy's support if that must be done.