Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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The homeless housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme is available only in Dublin but, unfortunately, the homeless crisis is not a Dublin-only issue. Rents have been skyrocketing and are now completely out of control across every county in the State. I am dealing with numerous families who are facing eviction. More than 30 of them are facing that prospect between now and October.

I am dealing with one situation involving a lady in her 60s who has received a notice to quit. She has been on the Cork City Council, CCC, housing list for 11 years. Even at this stage, if she could find a property that would accept HAP, she cannot afford to pay the balance. This is the real issue facing people in every city and county. I have another case of a lady, a single parent with one child, who went back to college to become a nurse. Her work is part-time. For this lady to get a property, she will either have to give up college or go back home and live with her family in conditions of severe overcrowding. These are the consequences sky-rocketing rents are having on people on HAP outside of Dublin.

April saw the number of people living in emergency accommodation go above 10,000 for the first time in two years. The most extraordinary figure, however, is that 474 children were living in homeless accommodation in April 2021. In April 2022, some 735 children were living in homeless accommodation. This is an increase in the number of children living in emergency accommodation of 261 in one year. Additionally, between March 2022 and April 2022, the figure in this regard went from 702 to 735, which is an increase of 33 children in one month alone.

There are no properties for a one-child family with a €900 HAP limit, the current limit, in Cork. Homeless HAP will not fix the housing crisis, but it might give these families a chance of a short-term solution. To be honest, I do not believe in HAP. It is a bad support and it is not social housing. It was brought in by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, and it is the only support available for many people because of their failures in housing. Any progress made during the pandemic is being eroded. What we are seeing now is a dramatic increase in evictions or notices to quit. Peter McVerry this week said this housing crisis is the worst in 40 years. He said people "are despairing and depressed" and have no hope.

Will the Minister and his Government review the emergency HAP provision for those living outside Dublin? I ask this because we have seen dramatic increases in rents. People are unable to pay the resulting difference. Regarding the first lady I spoke about, she is in her 60s and could never have foreseen herself becoming homeless. Yet she is now facing this prospect. Another case I worked on recently was that of a girl in her early 20s who is a graduate of University College Cork, UCC. She is considering following up on her degree by doing her masters in the autumn. She is working full-time, but had to go into homeless emergency accommodation because her landlord was selling the property. Thankfully, Edel House is providing that young girl with assistance and support. I thank the people involved with that organisation for the brilliant work they do. How, though, can a young lady with a degree and a full-time job end up homeless in this State?

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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The housing assistance payment, HAP, is a flexible and immediate housing support available to all eligible households throughout the State. At the end of quarter four of 2021, more than 100,000 HAP tenancies had been set up since the scheme commenced, of which more than 61,900 households were actively receiving HAP support.

Under HAP, tenants source their own accommodation in the private-rented market. However, additional supports are available under HAP for homeless households or households at risk of homelessness. While eligible households or individuals may source accommodation for themselves under the homeless HAP scheme, a dedicated resource, the place finder service, has been established nationwide to provide assistance. The place finder service can assist households in emergency accommodation or at risk of homelessness primarily by providing access to deposits and advance rental payments. The operation of the homeless services, including the place finder service, is a matter for each local authority.

The place finder positions are funded by my Department. On foot of a circular, housing 4/2018, the Department has issued approval for 23 place finder positions in local authorities. However, place finder positions were already in place in the four Dublin local authorities prior to the circular being issued. In 2021, there were five HAP place finders in the four Dublin local authorities, in addition to their existing homeless services. Several local authorities indicated they did not wish to seek additional resources to establish a place finder service as they were satisfied with their existing homeless services.

Each local authority has statutory discretion to agree to a HAP payment of up to 20% above the prescribed maximum rent limit to secure appropriate accommodation for a household that requires it, or up to 50% in the case of homeless households in the Dublin region. It is a matter for the local authority to determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether, and to what extent, the application of the flexibility is warranted, although it should be noted that local authorities have a responsibility to ensure that tenancies are sustainable. From available data, at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, some 57% of the total number of households being supported by HAP were benefiting from the additional flexibility, at an average rate of discretion of 24.2% above the relevant limit.

The programme for Government commits to ensuring that HAP levels are adequate to support vulnerable households, while the supply of social housing increases. Under Housing for All, the Department was tasked with undertaking an analytical exercise to examine whether an increase in the level of 20% discretion available to local authorities under HAP is required to maintain adequate levels of HAP support. The Housing Agency undertook this exercise on behalf of the Department and submitted the review to the Department. The review is undergoing analysis in our Department and this will conclude shortly. This is something the Department is considering.

I note the Deputy's comments concerning the spiralling rents. There are also many issues with landlords leaving the market. This is placing an added burden on homeless services and local authorities. Our Department is committed to ensuring we have a full range of services and supports in place for families at risk of homelessness. Homeless HAP has provided a good basis for trying to support families and individuals in these circumstances. The longer-term picture here concerns the supply of social housing, which we are delivering at scale. It will, however, take some time to get to the point where this provision will make a marked impact on the homeless situation, which we acknowledge is difficult now.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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The question I asked has not been answered. I refer to an increase in the homeless HAP for living outside the Dublin area. As the Minister of State said, it is possible to avail of a rate 20% above the maximum rate outside the Dublin area, but discretion in this regard is set at 50% inside the Dublin area. I ask that the level of discretion be set at 50% across the State. I think that would be fair. We have seen dramatic increases in rent in every county. What we have now are people struggling. I am talking about people who are entitled to a payment but for whom that payment is not enough to allow them to secure a roof over their head.

I spoke earlier about the number of children in emergency accommodation. Outside Dublin, 735 children will be going to bed tonight in unsuitable and unstable accommodation. Most children are looking forward to the summer and to holidays, summer camps and getting to the beach. The worry for these 735 children is whether they will have a roof over their heads. This is the situation these families are facing. Homelessness in families outside Dublin is increasing. It is a significant increase. From March to April this year, we saw the number of families affected increase from 337 to 352. People are desperate and they need support. Great mistakes were made in Dublin years ago when the homelessness figures skyrocketed. This same problem is now happening outside Dublin. I do not know if the Minister, the Minister of State and the Department understand the number of people now facing homelessness this summer. It took the Government years to act when this kind of problem hit Dublin. This type of tsunami is coming to the rest of the State. The Government must act now.

We have a situation in Cork and other cities where the numbers in homeless accommodation are increasing rapidly. There is also the element of hidden homelessness. It has been estimated by St. Vincent de Paul that 30,000 people are in hidden homelessness. This is on top of the 10,000 people we know of.

That amounts to 40,000 people, one third or 13,000 of whom are children.

A recent report from the Simon Community, Locked Out of the Market, found that there were only 80 properties available under HAP. This is a drastic reduction of 92% on the figure of 906 properties that were available in June 2021. We are in dire straits. The Peter McVerry Trust and other organisations are saying we need to act now.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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The Housing for All plan sets out the Government’s commitment to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade, including an average of 10,000 new build social homes, which we are on track to deliver. As I said, that is where part of the solution lies, but not the entire solution. It is our ambition to reduce dependency on HAP by increasing social housing provision. Notwithstanding that, as I said in my initial response, it is critical that an analytical review be undertaken on increasing the 20% discretionary limit that local authorities have under HAP. On the increase in the discretionary limit of 20%, the Deputy suggested it be raised to 50% as per the Dublin local authorities. The Housing Agency has completed that piece of work and the Department is undertaking its analysis. We should be able to conclude the findings of that process shortly.

I accept the points made by the Deputy. It is an incredibly and increasingly challenging situation across the country, in which all services are stretched. The Department is committed to resolving these issues. The Minister has consistently stated in the House that he is committed to addressing the issue of homelessness. The Government is committed to eliminating homelessness by 2030. These reviews will take place and if discretion is there on the 20% limit for local authorities, it will certainly help to alleviate the situation for the families involved in the cases the Deputy mentioned.