Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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253. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the extent to which his attention has been drawn to the housing needs of Army overholders at the Curragh, County Kildare; the number accommodated through the local authority over the past ten years; the extent to which it might be expected to meet these needs in the near future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12587/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I understand that the term over-holder is used to describe former members of the Defence Forces and their families who have refused to leave military married quarters within 21 days of retiring or resigning from military service. Where such persons leave military quarters and are in need of housing, it is open to them to apply to their local authority for social housing support and be assessed in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in the Housing Acts and the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011. Decisions on the qualification of households for social housing support is a matter for the housing authority concerned, and I am precluded by law from becoming involved in individual cases. My Department does not hold information on the number of such over-holders accommodated by local authorities.

The broader issue of former members of the Defence Forces and their families remaining in married military quarters on the camp after resigning or retiring from military service is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Defence.