Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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872. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to roll out the housing assistance payment programme to County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28975/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The implementation of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a key Government priority and a major pillar of the Social Housing Strategy 2020. The HAP scheme 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, with an information session held for Oireachtas members and their staff on 23 June 2015. Based on the findings of that review, the second phase of the HAP statutory pilot has recently commenced with the scheme becoming operational in Donegal County Council on 25 May 2015, in Offaly County Council on 15 June 2015 and in Carlow, Clare and Tipperary County Councils and Cork City Council from 29 June 2015.

There are now over 2,500 households in receipt of HAP across the local authority areas taking part in the statutory pilot scheme.

Consideration is currently being given to the sequencing of a further cohort of local authorities to commence HAP on an incremental basis this year; I can confirm that my Department is in contact with Kildare County Council with a view to commencing the HAP scheme in this administrative area later this year.