Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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2188. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on whether the reliance on HAP for the majority of social housing provision rather than on new builds is having an impact on inflating rents in the private rental sector; and if he has commissioned research on the effects of reliance on HAP for social housing provision. [27313/17]

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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2203. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of homeless households that were offered participation on the homeless HAP; and the number of households that refused to participate on the scheme. [27505/17]

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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2204. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government further to the ministerial direction to local authorities on HAP recipients which instructs local authorities to take the necessary steps to ensure that households benefitting from HAP can avail of a move to other forms of social housing support via a transfer list, his views on whether there is a perception amongst households, particularly homeless households, that they will lose their place on the social housing waiting list if they agree to take up HAP and that this is exacerbating homelessness; and his further views on the fact that in many local authorities being placed on a transfer list ensures that a household is not prioritised in the allocation of longer term and more secure social housing. [27506/17]

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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2205. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the reason HAP or homeless HAP recipients should be placed on transfer social housing waiting lists as opposed to the general social housing waiting list; and his views on whether this is done to make statistical reports of social housing waiting lists appear less severe rather than for substantive policy reason. [27507/17]

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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2206. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of households that have participated on the homeless HAP scheme that have transferred from the HAP scheme to other forms of social housing support. [27508/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 2188 and 2203 to 2206, inclusive, together.

Under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is one of the suite of social housing options available to local authorities to meet housing need.  During the lifetime of the Plan, some 47,000 new social houses will be provided through mechanisms other than HAP (including build purchase, refurbishment and leasing), supported by Exchequer investment of over €5 billion, and housing output generally will be progressively increased towards the target of producing 25,000 houses per year through all channels. 

It is recognised that the level of supply in some rental markets can make the sourcing of suitable accommodation challenging.  The pressures in this regard are borne out by the latest data published by Daft.ie, showing that rent asking prices rose nationwide by an average 13.4% in the year to March 2017. However, the report also shows that rent inflation in Dublin has slowed over the last quarter. This is an early indication that the Rent Predictability Measures introduced under the Government's Strategy for the Rental Sector are having the desired effect. 

The long-term solution to the current homelessness issue is to increase the supply of homes. In this context, the fourth edition of Rebuilding Ireland's Monthly Housing Activity Report shows that housing construction activity continues to gather momentum, with an appreciable rise in the level of housing commencements notified to local authorities during March 2017. 

Once a household has been deemed eligible for social housing support, it is a matter for the local authority to examine the suite of social housing supports available, including the HAP scheme, to determine the most appropriate form of support for that household. There are currently more than 22,000 households in receipt of HAP across the State, including some 7,000 households that were previously supported by Rent Supplement and some 1,500 eligible homeless households in the Dublin Region. HAP is a flexible and immediate form of social housing support that is available to all eligible households throughout the State.  A summary of the household classes supported by the HAP scheme at the end of Q1 2017 is as follows:

- Single/Single Sharing - 31%

- Couple/Couple Sharing - 4%

- Lone Parent with Children - 39%

- Couple with Children - 26%

The Homeless Pilot of the HAP scheme has been operational since February 2015, across the four housing authorities in the Dublin Region, and is being implemented through the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE). The focus of this pilot remains the transitioning of qualified households from emergency accommodation, including hotels, into private rented tenancies. To qualify for HAP under the homeless pilot scheme, a household must generally be accepted as homeless within the meaning of section 2 of the Housing Act 1988 by one of the four Dublin local authorities. The Homeless HAP support has also been used to prevent households from entering homelessness and homeless services.

While eligible homeless households may source accommodation for themselves, a dedicated placement team, the Dublin Place-Finder Service, has also been established to engage directly with property owners and support qualified households to find suitable tenancies and to ensure that any additional supports that may be needed are put in place. This is a particularly important service for households currently residing in emergency accommodation in the Dublin region.

My Department does not collate data regarding the number of homeless households that were offered participation in the homeless HAP scheme and the number of households that have refused to participate in the scheme. 

Following the commencement of the provisions in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014, HAP is considered to be a social housing support and consequently households are not eligible to remain on the main housing waiting list. Acknowledging that households on the waiting list who avail of HAP might have expectations that they would receive an allocated form of social housing support, Ministerial Directions issued during the pilot phase of the scheme to ensure that, should they so choose, HAP tenants could avail of a move to other forms of social housing support through a transfer list. With the completion of the HAP roll-out nationally, I recently signed a Ministerial Direction, instructing local authorities to continue to offer HAP tenants access to other forms of social housing through the transfer list. This refreshed direction ensures that following completion of the HAP pilot phase, HAP tenants still get all the benefits of HAP and are no less likely to get a different form of social housing support.  The information on the dedicated HAP website, , reflects the legislation and states that any HAP tenant who wants to access other social housing supports, may do so through the transfer system as operated by their respective local authority. 

The practical operation of transfer lists is a matter for each local authority to manage, on the basis of their scheme of letting priorities.  The setting of such schemes is a reserved function of the local authority and as such is a matter for the elected members. I understand that the majority of HAP households do avail of the option to be placed on a transfer list. Since its statutory commencement in September 2014, some 356 households (at the end of Q1 2017) had transferred from the HAP scheme to other forms of social housing support; 3 of these transferred from the Homeless HAP scheme.

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 programme outlined under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness.