Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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161. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of households currently in receipt of the housing assistance payment in each local authority area in tabular form; the average payment in each local authority area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12286/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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There are currently over 18,000 households being supported by the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme in 31 local authority areas. A breakdown of the number of households supported by HAP, including the number of Rent Supplement Transfers, in each local authority area at 31 December 2016 is available on my Department's website at the following link: . A breakdown of households supported by HAP within each local authority area at end of Q1 2017 will be published on my Department's website shortly after the end of the quarter.

The HAP scheme is funded through a combination of Exchequer monies and tenant differential rents collected in respect of HAP tenancies. The provisional exchequer outturn for the HAP scheme in 2016 was in excess of €57 million. The majority of this funding is to support the ongoing costs of tenancies established in 2015 that continued into 2016, and the costs of the 12,075 new households supported by the scheme in 2016. Budget 2017 has increased the Exchequer funding for the HAP scheme to €152.7 million, in order to meet the continuing costs of existing HAP households, and the costs of an additional 15,000 households to be supported by HAP in 2017.

A breakdown of average housing assistance payments to landlords by local authority at the end of 2016, will be compiled and will be provided to the Deputy in accordance with Standing Orders.