Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. My Commencement matter asks him to confirm progress on a formal, standardised, independent appeals mechanism in respect of social housing decisions and that such an appeals process be set out as a statutory requirement. I am glad to see the Minister of State here as he is from the responsible Department.

One might ask what type of issues may be of concern and subject to an appeal. The issues in housing and local authorities range from allocations to transfers, loans, grants, repairs, rents, failure to provide Traveller accommodation, homelessness and access to housing lists. Somehow there are disputes but there is no successful remedy in most cases. The Minister of State may or may not know that people find themselves at loggerheads or in dispute with the deciding officers of the local authorities. The local authorities are police and controlling judge and jury in their own cause and it is simply not good enough. The Minister of State will be aware that a new general scheme has been proposed for legislation that relates to the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 and some of this matter is covered in it.I acknowledge the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC, for the enormous work it has done in this particular area.

What are the advantages of an appeal, one might ask? An appeal enables the merits of a decision to be re-examined through an assessment of questions of fact, and the application of judgment for those facts, rather than just an assessment of the process by which the decision was made or arrived at, which may very well be examined at a later date in a judicial review. Given the nature of social housing provision, I do not believe that people should be seeking judicial reviews. I know there are mechanisms to refer things to the Ombudsman's office but it is a lengthy process. Again, I think we should be remedying and giving solutions on the ground in our local authorities, but we need uniformity. Before the Minister of State tells me that all 31 local authorities are doing different things, I will say that I do not want to hear that anymore. The politicians and Ministers are driving the legislation, and we clearly know there are problems.

There is a lack of an appeals mechanism. This has been identified by a number of advocacy groups in the area of housing. I note that there was no provision for an appeals mechanism in the general scheme of the housing (miscellaneous provisions) Bill 2024, to which I referred. This surprises me. This is the most current Bill on which the Department is working. This is unlike the area of social welfare. If issues arise in the area of social welfare, there are mechanisms for an independent review. People should not be forced to litigate in the courts because that is not how any of us want to see these things happen. There is a need for deciding officers and clear administrative accountability to minimise the rise in the number of persons being adversely affected by incorrect decisions or oversights by housing authorities. That is important.

I contacted Wayne Stanley. He is, of course, one of the chief advocates in the Simon Community. In his reply, he made three asks:

A commitment to a broad consultation and engagement to ensure that the much-needed independent appeals process is fit for purpose.

A commitment that the decisions of the appeals body would publish its decision (appropriately anonymised).

A commitment that in any legislative development on access to social housing the opportunity to confirm in legislation ‘for the avoidance of doubt’ that it has no bearing on the provision of emergency accommodation. Emergency accommodation is a critically important humanitarian response not an accommodation solution in any sense.

I will leave that with the Minister of State.