John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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311. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the reason the additional flexibility was utilised by the local authority in only 3% of tenancies in south County Dublin while this was used in 88% of tenancies in the Dublin city local authority in view of the fact that average rents are comparable in both areas and that there are a very limited number of rental vacancies in both areas according to a report (details supplied); and his views on whether this could be an indication that South Dublin County Council is not adequately using flexibility available to it to secure additional tenancies for households eligible for HAP. [30444/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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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 23,000 households in receipt of HAP, including more than 7,000 households that were previously supported by Rent Supplement. On average in 2017, 330 new households are being supported by HAP each week. The nationwide roll-out of the HAP scheme was completed following its introduction on 1 March 2017 to the Dublin City, Fingal and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Local Authority areas.  Eligible households in all 31 Local Authority areas can now avail of the scheme.  HAP has been particularly successful in the South Dublin County Council (SDCC) area, where it has been available since 1 October 2014, and currently supports over 1,760 tenancies.

The Government increased the maximum rent limits available under the HAP and Rent Supplement schemes across the country with effect from 1 July 2016. Furthermore, additional flexibility above the existing HAP rent limits was made available to all HAP local authorities from the same date. Each local authority has statutory discretion to agree to a HAP payment up to 20% above the prescribed maximum rent limit in circumstances where it is necessary, because of local rental market conditions, to secure appropriate accommodation for a household that requires it. It is a matter for the local authority, South Dublin County Council in this case, to determine if the application of the flexibility is warranted on a case by case basis. 

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 scheme is to transition qualified households from emergency accommodation, including hotels, into private rented tenancies. Additional discretion of up to 50% above rent limits is available to assist in housing homeless households in the Dublin Region, and 88% of all homeless households have benefited from some level of this homeless specific discretion. The additional discretion available to homeless households recognises the difficulty this cohort of households face in sourcing and securing properties in a highly competitive rental market. This proportion of households utilising discretion in the Dublin City Council administrative area reflects the DRHE's role in processing HAP applications for all eligible homeless households, across the four Dublin local authorities. When homeless households are excluded, the use of discretion of HAP in the Dublin City area is similar to that of SDCC, with 1.2% of all households supported  utilising the discretion available.

At the end of Q1 2017, 14.4% of the total number of households across the country being supported by HAP were benefiting from the additional flexibility that was provided to local authorities to exceed the maximum rent limits. Excluding homeless households, 9.6% of all households being supported were benefiting from the additional flexibility and in those cases the average rate of discretionary payment being used was 14.3% above rent limits provided. 

My Department continues to keep the operation of the HAP scheme under review. I am satisfied with how the scheme is operating and I consider it to be a key vehicle for meeting housing need and fulfilling the ambitious programme under Rebuilding Ireland.