Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for tabling this important Commencement matter. It is open to anyone to apply for social housing support. The qualification criteria are set out in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the social housing assessment regulations, as amended, and are applied by all local authorities in assessing individual households for support. Section 63(3) of the Local Government Act 2001 provides that, subject to law, a local authority is independent in the performance of its functions.

The oversight and practical arrangement of housing waiting lists, including the allocation and transfer of tenancies, is a matter for the relevant authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated regulations. The allocation of social housing support to qualified households is a matter for the local authority concerned in accordance with the allocation scheme made in accordance with section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated social housing allocation regulations 2011, as amended. This legislation requires all local authorities as a reserve function to make an allocation scheme which specifies, among other things, the manner and the order of priority for the allocation of dwellings to households and to the housing transfer list. Of course, the Senator is well aware of this.

The local authority assesses the housing applicants, taking into account factors such as the condition and affordability of existing accommodation, medical and compassionate grounds, etc. The authority can then prioritise the needs of approved applicants in accordance with its allocation scheme. Decisions on the allocation of social housing support are a matter solely for the local authority concerned. Each application must be considered on its own merits and individual circumstances must be taken into account.

Local authorities have their own internal appeals mechanism. If an individual is dissatisfied with the outcome of an appeal, it is open to them to raise their case with the Ombudsman. My Department recently received the report of the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage on the pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the housing (miscellaneous provisions) Bill 2024. One of the recommendations of the report is to include a robust and independent appeals mechanism in the legislation, as the Senator has stated. My Department thanks the committee for this report. Officials are working closely with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel on the drafting of the Bill and will consult it specifically on this matter, which, I agree, is extremely important.