Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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592. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the way in which the place finder system is working across the four Dublin local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29536/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The Homeless Pilot of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme has been operational since February 2015 across the four local authorities in the Dublin Region, i.e. Dublin City Council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Fingal County Council and South Dublin County Council, and is being implemented through the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE). The Place Finder service has been operating in the Dublin local authorities since 2015 also, and more recently in the Cork City Council area. The focus of the scheme is to transition qualified households from emergency accommodation, including hotels, into private rented tenancies.

While eligible homeless households may source accommodation for themselves, a dedicated placement team, the Place Finder Service assists homeless households in areas where there is a high demand for properties but low levels of supply which makes the rental market very challenging, and where the provision of such a service is justified.

The Place Finder service seeks out potential properties suitable for households currently identified as homeless. The service liaises with individual households to establish their specific needs and to ensure that any additional supports which may be needed are put in place; it establishes relationships with local property agents and landlords and it assists the household in securing the tenancy.

Additional discretion of up to 50% above HAP rent limits is available to the Dublin local authorities to assist in housing homeless households in the Dublin area. The Place Finder Service can also pay a deposit and two months rent in advance on behalf of the tenant, meaning that homeless households are provided with the best chance of finding a new home with the security that HAP provides.

The Place Finder Service is a particularly important service for households currently residing in emergency accommodation in the Dublin region and has been utilised very successfully with more than 1,500 households currently being supported by the Homeless HAP scheme. The DRHE are providing HAP support to an average of 32 households a week through the homeless HAP scheme in 2017. This includes homeless families exiting emergency accommodation into sustainable tenancies, as well as supporting households who are at immediate risk of homelessness.