Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

251. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the reason for requiring each person on a local authority housing list to fill out a housing needs assessment on an annual basis and at such short notice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25816/17]

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

Under Section 21 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, the Minister may direct each housing authority to prepare a summary (in the form prescribed by the Minister), of the social housing assessments carried out in its administrative area.

The undertaking of the Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA), formerly referred to as the Housing Needs Assessment, assists in providing a more strategic picture of the dynamics of the numbers applying for social housing supports and emerging trends. The purpose of the SSHA is to capture the total number of households qualified for social housing support across the country whose social housing need is not being met, in order to better understand the level of need for such support. 

From 2016, in line with a commitment given under the Social Housing Strategy 2020 published in November 2014, the SSHA will be carried out an annual basis.  Previous Summaries were carried out every three years and it is considered that moving to an annual basis is essential in order to better target the significant investment being made in social housing in the coming years.  The SSHA is an important exercise that provides essential information about the profile of applicants for social housing support, in order to better inform policy and the delivery of appropriate social housing supports.

Under the annual SSHA process, all housing authorities are required to review certain households who are on their housing list but who are not in receipt of housing support. This is to ensure that the details of the applicant households are up to date and accurate and that they remain eligible for, and in need of, social housing support in accordance with the criteria set down in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 as amended by the Social Housing Assessment (Amendment) Regulations 2016. 

It is acknowledged that there is a workload involved in assessing households for the purposes of the SSHA. However, while each housing authority is required to make a return in relation to the assessments carried out in its administrative area, it is not a requirement that a full assessment is carried out for all households. Rather each authority is required only to review those applications for support that have not been reviewed in the previous 12 month period.

It should also be noted that all applicants for social housing support have an ongoing responsibility to ensure that the relevant housing authority is kept reasonably up to date as regard changes in their circumstances (e.g. income, employment status, additional children, etc.) that may effect their eligibility for support.