Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

217. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to address housing transfer lists in cases in which families have expanded and now find themselves in inadequate housing arrangements; the provision he has made in the Rebuilding Ireland action plan for these situations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22791/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The oversight and management of housing waiting lists, including the allocation and transfer of tenancies, is a matter for the relevant housing authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated regulations. Section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 requires all housing authorities, as a reserved function, to make an allocation scheme determining the order of priority to be accorded in the allocation of dwellings to households qualified for social housing support and to households approved for a transfer, the allocation of which would, in the opinion of the authority, meet the accommodation needs and requirements of the households.

In determining the accommodation needs of a household seeking a transfer, and the priority to be awarded to such households, housing authorities have regard to whether the current accommodation is overcrowded within the meaning of section 63 of the Housing Act 1966. Decisions as to the priority to be awarded to individual households are a matter for the housing authority concerned, having regard to their allocation schemes.

I am aware of the issues arising where a tenanted household outgrows its current accommodation. To assist housing authorities in addressing this issue, my Department provides capital funding to housing authorities to undertake adaptations and extensions to their existing social housing stock on a targeted and prioritised basis, where such works are required to address over-crowding. However, my Department would expect that housing authorities, in as far as possible, should manage their existing stock of vacant properties to meet such need.

In the longer term, the range of measures being progressed under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness will address the challenges in the social housing sector. The Plan aims to deliver 47,000 new social housing solutions by 2021. The delivery of these new units will be informed by the needs identified through the now annual Summary of Social Housing Assessment process carried out by all local authorities from 2016 onwards. This will ensure that the right types of accommodation are built to meet the changing requirements of households into the future.