Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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185. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of homeless presentations and applications to access the social housing waiting list that are transferred to another local authority based on local connection tests; his views on whether such local connection tests can have negative consequences on applicants who are going from one local authority to another; and if he is considering any proposals for improving guidelines on case management in this area whereby local councils should have to confirm a local connection before referring an applicant. [33303/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department does not hold the information sought. The assessment of households for social housing support is the responsibility of the relevant local authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, which set down a standard procedure for assessing applicants for social housing support.

A household may apply for support to one housing authority only (the “housing authority of application”), which may be the authority for the area in which the household normally resides or with which it has a local connection, or the authority that agrees, at its discretion, to assess the household for support. In determining whether a household has a local connection with its area, a housing authority must have regard to whether a household member:

- lived in the area for a continuous 5 year period at any time in the past,

- is employed in the area or within 15 km of the area,

- is in full-time education, or attending specialist medical care in the area, or

- has a relative (defined in the Regulations) living in the area for 2 years or longer.

In 2013 my Department issued a clarification to all local authorities on the issue of the normal residence and local connection criteria, which advised that households were only required to meet either criterion, not both. Thus, where a household resides in a local authority’s area, there is no requirement to have a local connection in order to apply to that authority for support.

The clarification provided that “normally resides” was generally intended to refer to the housing authority where the household is currently resident and the household was required to provide proof of this, such as a utility bill, proof of a social welfare payment, a lease etc. In relation to a household living in emergency accommodation, the only proof of residence may be a social welfare payment and it was not the intention that such households would also have to demonstrate a local connection.

As the 2011 Regulations do not provide for a housing authority to impose a minimum period of residence in the area prior to application for social housing support, authorities were advised that it was not intended that households were required to have resided in the functional area of the housing authority of application for a minimum length of time in order to be considered eligible for assessment.