Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 174: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, further to Parliamentary Question No. 184 of 16 November 2011, his plans to address the issue; if he will give consideration to reassessing the stated Regulation 22, thus permitting families or persons address the difficult and unacceptable circumstances that they are encountering; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36635/11]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Paragraph (1) of Regulation 22 of the Social Housing Assessment Regulations, 2011, provides that a household with alternative accommodation that would meet its housing need is ineligible for social housing support. Paragraph (2) of the Regulation effectively ensures that paragraph (1) does not operate to exclude from eligibility for social housing support an applicant who owns accommodation that is occupied by his or her spouse, from whom he or she is separated or divorced.

The Regulation is worded in such a way that once there is a Deed of Separation in place, this aspect of eligibility for social housing support can be determined. There is no need therefore to await judicial separation or divorce to get a decision on social housing support in these cases. I consider that this provision is reasonable in most cases. I acknowledge, however, that situations may exceptionally arise that may not easily be dealt with under the current Regulations. My Department is keeping the social housing assessment provisions under ongoing review and in this context will consider what wider discretion might be given to housing authorities to address the individually difficult and complex cases which may present to them.