Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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2149. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of households per county which are in receipt of the housing assistance payment; the number of landlords and agents currently participating in the HAP scheme per county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26687/17]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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2150. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of landlords and agents per county that have rejected housing assistance payment tenancies since the scheme's introduction but that previously accepted tenants in receipt of rent supplement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26688/17]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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2151. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to incidents whereby landlords have expressed an unwillingness and reluctance to participate in the housing assistance payment scheme due to the requirements and obligations placed on them as part of the programme; the steps he is taking to ensure that persons in receipt of HAP are not being unfairly discriminated against by landlords; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26689/17]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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2152. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the costs incurred by his Department to date in the training of staff; the costs incurred in the setting up of office operations as part of the housing assistance payment shared services centre in Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26690/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 2149 to 2152, inclusive, together.

The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a flexible and immediate housing support that is now available to all eligible households throughout the State. There are currently more than 22,000 households in receipt of HAP, including 7,000 households that were previously supported by Rent Supplement. There are currently more than 17,000 separate landlords and agents providing accommodation  to households supported by  the HAP scheme.

My Department publishes a breakdown of the additional households supported by HAP by each local authority every quarter. This breakdown also includes the number of Rent Supplement transfers and new applicants. A breakdown of the number of households supported in each local authority area at the end of Q1 2017 is available on my Department's website.  Further details can be found at the following weblink:.

In relation to the number of landlords and agents currently participating in the scheme, my Department does not collate this data. However, the HAP Shared Services Centre makes HAP payments to over 17,000 separate landlords and agents who may have more than one property under the scheme.

Under the HAP scheme, there are terms and conditions for both a HAP supported tenant and a landlord, in order for HAP to be paid. Both parties also have to provide information in order for a local authority to process an application for HAP. The legislative basis for HAP is provided in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014. As HAP support is funded by the Exchequer, with €153m provided for in 2017, it is important that the scheme's terms and conditions operate to ensure that this money is paid to the legitimate owner of the dwelling concerned; that the dwelling concerned meets the legislative requirements governing the minimum standards for rented accommodation (which all landlords have a legal obligation to ensure); and that the landlord is fulfilling their obligations under Revenue's legislation.

HAP provides landlords with many advantages including that the landlord does not have to collect rent, payments are made electronically directly to the landlords on the tenant's behalf, landlords who rent to tenants in receipt of HAP may avail of increased tax relief and changes in a tenant's employment circumstances do not affect the HAP payments made to the landlord. With more than 300 new households, landlords and agents engaging with the scheme each week, including those transferring from Rent Supplement, it is clear that HAP is operating well for both landlords and tenants.

A landlord or an agent acting on behalf of a landlord is not legally obliged to enter into a tenancy agreement with a HAP recipient. However, since 1 January 2016, a person cannot be discriminated against when renting because they are in receipt of certain payments, including HAP, so landlords can no longer state when advertising accommodation that HAP is not accepted. If a person feels that they have been discriminated against by a landlord or their agent, they can make a complaint under the Equal Status Acts to the Workplace Relations Commission. Further information is available on the Commission's website,  .

Details on the number of landlords and agents that have rejected HAP supported tenancies is not available in my Department.

With regards to costs incurred by my Department to date in the training of staff, these costs are not broken down in this way and are not available. However, my Department, together with the HAP Shared Service Centre and the Housing Agency, undertook an extensive training programme for local authorities, which has proven an important contributing factor to the successful rollout of the scheme. In terms of the costs incurred in the setting up of the office operations as part of the HAP Shared Service Centre in Limerick, the total cost since the scheme commenced to date is €3.124m. This includes staff costs, investment costs and other operational funding requirements. The Centre provides an efficient and effective transactional service on behalf of every local authority in the country, and the investment made represents good value for money.

My Department continues to keep the operation of the HAP scheme under review. In general, I am satisfied with the operation of HAP and I consider it to be a key vehicle for meeting housing need and fulfilling the ambitious programmes outlined under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness.