Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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610. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a schedule for the roll-out of the Housing Assistance Payment in County Kildare by Kildare County Council; his views that this will help alleviate the housing crisis throughout the country, where some persons are waiting eight years or more for the provision of social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24973/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The Social Housing Strategy’s targeted provision of over 110,000 social housing units to 2020, through the delivery of 35,000 new social housing units and meeting the housing needs of some 75,000 households through the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and Rental Accommodation Scheme, will address the needs of the 90,000 households on the housing waiting list in full, with flexibility to meet potential future demand. The Strategy will be delivered in two phases. Phase 1 targets the delivery of 18,000 additional housing units and 32,400 Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) units, by the end of 2017. In phase 2, spanning the years 2018 to 2020, the strategy targets the delivery of 17,000 additional units and 43,000 Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) units. In addition, the implementation of the range of actions under the Construction 2020 Strategy will support increased supply in the wider housing market.

Local authorities are responsible for the detailed planning of social housing provision based on the needs of their areas. It is a matter for each local authority to identify the appropriate initiatives to respond to their housing need, including consideration by them of options in respect of new building developments, property acquisition, leasing and the provision of housing supports through the private rental sector.

The implementation of HAP will bring all social housing supports provided by the State under the aegis of local authorities. The scheme will remove a barrier to employment by allowing recipients to remain in the scheme if they gain full-time employment. HAP will also improve regulation of the rented accommodation being supported and provide certainty for landlords as regards their rental income. Further to the enactment of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 on 28 July 2014, the first phase of the HAP statutory pilot commenced with effect from 15 September 2014 in Limerick City and County Council, Waterford City and County Council and Cork County Council. HAP commenced in Louth, Kilkenny, South Dublin and Monaghan County Councils from 1 October 2014. Subsequently, on 18 December 2014, Dublin City Council became part of the statutory HAP pilot, with a specific focus on accommodating homeless households. Dublin City Council is implementing the HAP pilot for homeless households in the Dublin region on behalf of all 4 Dublin local authorities.

During the legislation’s passage through the Oireachtas in July 2014 an undertaking was given that a progress report would be prepared for the relevant Oireachtas Committee. I can confirm that data from the pilot sites has been gathered and I submitted a report to the Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht at the end of April 2015. Based on the findings of that review, the second phase of the HAP statutory pilot has recently commenced with the HAP scheme becoming operational in Donegal County Council on 25 May 2015 and in Offaly County Council on the 15 June 2015. HAP will become operational in Carlow, Clare and Tipperary County Councils and Cork City Council from 29 June 2015. Consideration is currently being given to the sequencing of a further cohort of local authorities to commence HAP on an incremental basis this year. While no implementation date has yet been confirmed, my Department is working with Kildare County Council to make the necessary arrangements for their inclusion in the next phase of the pilot.