Written answers

Wednesday, 5 October 2016

Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government

Local Authority Housing

Photo of Ruth CoppingerRuth Coppinger (Dublin West, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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139. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on the impact of the decision in April 2016 not to renew the direction to local authorities to allocate 50% of tenancies to priority housing applicants (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28866/16]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In January 2015, a Ministerial Direction was put in place which required the Dublin Region housing authorities to allocate at least 50% of tenancies under their control to homeless and other vulnerable households, while the authorities in counties Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford were required to allocate at least 30%. The Direction was subsequently renewed on two occasions, with the last renewal expiring on 30 April 2016. At the time of the last renewal in February 2016, the Housing Agency was requested to conduct a review of the operation of the Direction and provide an impartial assessment.

The Agency recommended that the Direction should be allowed to lapse upon its expiry date.

This Direction was only ever intended to operate for a short period of time to provide an immediate increase in the number of social housing tenancies being allocated to homeless households. In the normal course, local authorities and their elected members are best placed to determine the allocation of social housing for their own areas, in line with national policy.

Among the Agency’s findings was that the well-established allocation procedures of housing authorities are capable of responding to particular housing need without an on-going Ministerial Direction. This analysis is vindicated by the fact that, in the first 6 months of this year, local authorities nationally have assisted more than 1,350 sustainable exits from homelessness into independent tenancies, with almost half of these going into social housing tenancies.

Taking account of the Housing Agency report, my predecessor decided not to renew the terms of this Direction. I do not intend to revisit the matter as I am confident that the comprehensive range of actions and initiatives underway to increase housing supply generally, as set out in Rebuilding Ireland: An Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, will enable local authorities to maintain or indeed exceed the level of housing allocations to homeless households and other vulnerable groups achieved under the Ministerial Direction.

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