John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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216. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of tenancies which have been delivered in 2016 to date under the homeless housing assistance payment pilot; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29346/16]

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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218. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of tenancies which have been delivered to date in 2016 under the housing assistance payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29348/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 216 and 218 together.

The implementation of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is a key Government priority and the accelerated roll-out of the scheme on a national basis is an important early action for completion in the Government’s Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. Local authorities and my Department are working closely together in order to ensure the successful implementation of the scheme. Training will be provided in nine more local authority areas (Cavan, Kerry, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Roscommon, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow) before the end of November 2016 and the scheme will be commence in these administrative areas on a statutory basis on Thursday, 1 December 2016, subject to the necessary regulations being in place.

As of 10 October, 2016, a total of 8,976 new households have been supported by the HAP scheme in 2016.  A weekly average of 225 HAP tenancies has been set-up during 2016, and this figure continues to rise with 291 HAP tenancies signed-up to start in the current week and a further 292  signed up for week commencing October 17th 2016.  Some 13,800 households are currently being supported by the HAP scheme across the 19 local authority areas where the scheme is operational, including eligible homeless households under the HAP Pilot scheme managed by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) for all four local authorities in the Dublin region.

The Homelessness Pilot of the HAP scheme is being managed by the DRHE and has been operational since February 2015. Some 581 households are currently being supported by the scheme across the four housing authorities in the Dublin Region where the pilot is operational, i.e. Dublin City Council, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Fingal County Council and South Dublin County Council. The focus of this pilot scheme is to transition qualified households from emergency accommodation, including hotels, into private rented tenancies. To date in 2016, 529 homeless households have had their housing needs met by the HAP scheme.

In general, I am satisfied with how the HAP scheme is operating and I consider it to be a key vehicle for meeting housing need and fulfilling the ambitious programme under Rebuilding Ireland: An Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness.