Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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125. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he is aware of any processing or system impediments that might accelerate the risks of single persons or families going into homelessness while awaiting the processing of housing assistance payment, HAP, applications; the support systems he has put in place to monitor this and support families; his views on the impact of processing waiting times and gaps of up to three weeks in provision of HAP supports when customers are transitioning from rent supplement systems to HAP systems; how this is recorded; the efforts made to streamline the process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20168/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am not aware of any delays in relation to the processing and management of Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) applications.

Limerick City and County Council is providing a central transactional shared service to all local authorities operating the HAP scheme. The shared service centre, which is the primary administrative support to HAP local authorities, is responsible for a range of functions including monthly payments to landlords and the collection of weekly differential rent from tenants and provides a range of efficiencies to the operation of the scheme.

My Department closely monitors the operation of HAP and maintains regular contact with the pilot local authorities in order to learn from their experience of the scheme, and to address operational issues as they arise. In the case of households transferring from the rent supplement scheme to the HAP scheme, the Shared Service Centre, local authorities and the Department of Social Protection work closely together to ensure that there is no gap in support for any household. A priority for the local authority and Department of Social Protection is clear communication with the relevant households and landlords.

I am satisfied that the HAP scheme is operating well, with more than 10,700 households currently in receipt of housing support under the scheme.