Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. She is doing trojan work in her Ministry trying to resolve a very serious set of circumstances. There has been much misleading and grossly inaccurate information on the HAP. I am delighted the Minister of State has clarified once again in the Seanad today what the payment means. Representatives of various agencies have appeared before the Oireachtas committee, of which I am a member. Those representing the homeless are closest to my heart and that of the Minister of State. Very many people who cannot afford escalating rents are ending up homeless. Landlords do not want to take tenants receiving the HAP. The Minister of State has done some service by ensuring it will be easier for landlords to take on tenants in receipt of the payment and that they will not be fearful of non-payment of rent when the legislation is introduced.

The Bill deals with three major strands of housing policy: providing a legislative basis for the housing assistance payment; introducing a new tenant purchase scheme, as the Minister of State said; and reforming the process for the termination of local tenancies. The important housing legislation will bring about the most radical reform of public housing support, which has been badly needed for decades. Considering that we had the boom and plenty of property, one would think there should be no homelessness at all. However, there were still homeless people during the boom. That the problem could not be sorted then must be considered. Despite the fact that the Minister of State has her hands tied behind her back, she has done a good day's work in bringing in this measure.

It has long been accepted that the current rent supplement was and is not fit for purpose. The Minister of State is taking the necessary action to change the system. Data from last May suggest 78,000 people, or perhaps more, are in the rent allowance scheme. I may have the figure wrong. The new HAP will be better for tenants, local authorities and will be representative of a more coherent and joined-up system of housing support. It will be better for landlords in that it will encourage them to take on tenants in receipt of the HAP. The arrangement will benefit those who require assistance with their housing needs and it will ensure that all long-term household support will be assessed through each local authority rather than through the current, fractured system that involves the Department of Social Protection making payments. In addition, importantly, it will ensure that people will be able to take up employment and still retain housing support, and it will improve standards of accommodation for tenants with a more coherent inspection system under the control of the local authority.

I welcome the removal of the possibility of tenant arrears for landlords as it will encourage more acceptance of housing tenants. If one is on the housing list, one can take up the HAP. As the Minister of State said, and contrary to what I have heard in the media, one will be able to seek a transfer to a council house, RAS unit or accommodation from a housing association, provided that suitable accommodation is available. The Minister of State has outlined that very clearly today. One will be able to move to the system if one's needs and circumstances change. This is worth reiterating.

It should be recognised that not everybody in receipt of rent supplement or who will be in receipt of the HAP will want a traditional form of housing support. However, access to the supports will be provided, despite what I have been hearing. I will not ask the Minister of State to confirm this again.

The allocation and transfer policies will be reviewed throughout the piloting phase. There are seven or eight in the pilot programme. How long will it run for? Will seven more come in after the first pilot? Under the new scheme, the tenant can find his or her own accommodation provided the council is happy that it is up to standard. The HAP scheme will ensure that the standard of accommodation is sufficient. As I stated, that is important. Tenants will make their contribution to the council, in contrast with the arrangement under the RAS.

The Bill also contains reforming provisions on tenant purchase and tackling anti-social behaviour. Those of us who have been local authority members know that anti-social behaviour takes place. I am pleased that a new tenant purchase scheme is being introduced in the Bill. It is only fair that tenants have the opportunity to purchase their own homes in a transparent and equitable way. It makes for a coherent community working together when people are allowed to purchase their own homes, with the highest discounts to be available to the families in the lowest income bands who can sustain the mortgage payment. The scheme aims to enable tenants to become homeowners in their communities. It is a fundamental policy pillar to assist people to own their own homes by providing them with the necessary flexibility to do so. The Bill contains provisions to discourage the sale of a home immediately after purchase, which I welcome. One would obviously have trading on and trading up with the dilution of local authority housing.

The Bill reforms the termination of tenancies on which I have a couple of questions. As the Minister of State has said, termination of tenancy is a last resort, but there are occasions when tenancies must be terminated or repossession embarked on by a local authority. The new system will be transparent and include review provisions for tenants while facilitating local authorities to recover possession of dwellings. If a house has been vacant for some time, is the HSE informed or could it be? A tenant may be in hospital for four weeks unbeknown to the local authority. If there was a notification to the HSE, it could automatically inform the local authority and the tenant would not come out to find his or her home repossessed after four weeks. I do not believe it could happen, but it is important to put it in there.

The manner in which repossession takes place is set out in the Bill. I note the court judgment, on which the Minister of State may wish to comment, which recommended a proportionality test. It was brought to my attention and I raise with the Minister of State as it is easier to fix it than to let it happen. A proportionality test should apply where a person is proposed to be put out of his or her house. If it is not, there might be a problem from a human rights perspective.

I note the extension of the remit of the Private Residential Tenancies Board, which is to become the Residential Tenancies Board, to include voluntary housing association tenants. I ask the Minister of State to consider going a step further to include local authority tenants, if not in the Bill then in later legislation having considered all the recommendations. It would be useful if the Minister of State required an explicit statement of landlord obligations in tenancy agreements to ensure that the rights of tenants and landlords are all on the same footing.

Homelessness must be avoided. I note the 2016 aim of the Government on which it is working hard. NAMA is offering buildings to local authorities, which I welcome. However, I also want to ensure that it does not offer a huge number in a single location as with the offer of 500 units in my own local authority area. The policy of integration must stand true. I ask for a diktat to be issued to local authorities on the current integration policy of 20% social housing. Getting the planning rules right is also important. Building housing down the country and in the middle of nowhere are issues. If we get planning rules, lending for building and service sites right, the Minister of State will have done the State some service.