Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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256. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of offers of social housing supports made to approved applicants for social housing which were refused by the applicants for each of the past five years. [35999/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department does not hold information on the allocation of, or refusal of offers of, social housing supports to households on the waiting list. The allocation of social housing support is a matter for each housing authority in accordance with its allocation scheme made under the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, and, as Minister, I am precluded by law from intervening in individual housing cases.

I am aware of the impact refusals of housing support can have on the efficient administration of the social housing support system. Choice-Based Letting (CBL) is a system that allocates social housing in a more efficient manner and also offers more choice and involvement for applicant households in selecting a new home, thereby reducing the likelihood of refusals. Local authorities that have introduced CBL over recent years have seen a significant reduction in their refusal rates.

Accordingly on 30 September 2016, in line with a commitment in Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, I introduced the Social Housing Allocation (Amendment) Regulations 2016. These Regulations were made under section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and amend the Social Housing Allocation Regulations 2011 to require that each housing authority must provide for a CBL procedure in their allocation schemes no later than 31 December 2016.