Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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211. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 478 of 01 October 2013 if he will clearly state whether or not he will make provisions for local authorities to use their discretion when dealing with applicants who are separated and for cost and legal reasons are still named as a joint property owner; and if he will allow the local authorities to consider cases such as these for social housing. [42987/13]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The provisions of the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 set out the procedures for the assessment of applicants for social housing support. Decisions on the eligibility of specific persons for social housing support are a matter solely for the housing authority concerned.

Regulation 22(1) of the 2011 Regulations provides that a household with alternative accommodation that would meet its housing need is ineligible for social housing support. Paragraph (2) of the Regulation clarifies 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 formally separated or divorced. Under the enactment, a deed of separation is sufficient to set aside this ineligibility ground and it is not necessary to await judicial separation or divorce to get a decision on social housing support in these cases. This provision is reasonable in most cases.

I acknowledge, however, that situations relating to household members who have separated may exceptionally arise that may not easily be dealt with under the current Regulations. As stated in the reply to Question No. 478 of 1 October, 2013 , my Department is keeping the social housing assessment provisions under review as part of the overall programme for social housing reform and in particular where legislation is currently being considered in respect of underpinning the proposed Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme. The review process will, amongst other things, consider what wider discretion might be given to housing authorities by way of Regulations to address the individually difficult and complex cases which may present to them.