Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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607. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to set out the number of persons under 18 years of age with severe physical disabilities who are living in the family home in which the family is in receipt of HAP or RAS payments in each of the years 2014 to 2016 and to date in 2017 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48758/17]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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642. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 518 of 14 of November 2017 if persons with a social housing need remain entitled to RAS; if local authorities have a statutory obligation to approve a person for RAS once a landlord who is willing to enter the RAS has been identified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49329/17]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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643. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 518 of 14 November 2017 if the €134 million provided in budget 2018 to support a further 600 new transfers under RAS is for new RAS tenancies or for tenancies transferring out of RAS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49330/17]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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644. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 518 of 14 November 2017 if all sections of the legislation underpinning RAS have been commenced; the legal entitlement of persons in need of social housing support to access RAS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49331/17]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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645. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to outline the differences between RAS tenancies post-1 April 2011 and HAP tenancies; the differences between RAS tenancies that were in place prior to 1 April 2011 and HAP tenancies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49332/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 607 and 642 to 645, inclusive, together.

Section 229 of the Local Government Act 2001(as amended) provides local authorities with the statutory authority to enter into a contract with any person in respect of any matter arising in relation to the functions of the local authority. This provision allows local authorities to enter into contracts with property owners in order to secure properties for use as social housing support. The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 gives legislative recognition to rental accommodation availability agreements as a form of social housing support. Consequently, since 1 April 2011, all Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) tenants are considered to be in receipt of social housing support and should not generally remain on housing waiting lists for new applicants for social housing.

Chapter 4 of Part 2 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, relating to rental accommodation arrangements, has not been commenced to date because its commencement requires that section 31 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, as amended, is commenced. Section 31, which provides for the introduction of a national framework for social housing rents, has not been commenced. Considerable work has been carried out by my Department in developing a draft framework for a harmonisation of the approach to be taken by local authorities in regard to various aspects of rent schemes. These proposals were examined further in the light of the broader commitment given in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness to review the disparate systems of differential rents for social housing in place across local authorities. The review will be completed shortly.

In recognition that pre-2011 RAS tenants may have had reasonable expectations in regard to retaining access to traditional local authority rented accommodation, guidance issued by the Housing Agency in 2011 recommended that there should be a special transfer pathway provided for such RAS tenants to other forms of social housing support. The arrangement effectively allows these households to be designated as a ‘transfer’ applicant and to maintain their position for allocation as they had on the main waiting list. Post 2011 RAS tenant may seek a transfer to other forms of Social Housing Support in the normal manner.

With the commencement of the provisions in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014, the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is considered to be a social housing support. Ministerial Directions were 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 and the ending of the scheme’s pilot phase on 1 March 2017, a further Ministerial Direction was issued, instructing local authorities to continue to offer HAP tenants access to other forms of social housing through the transfer list. 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.

The assessment of applications for social housing support, and management of the lists of qualified households, including the recording of data on the number of applications refused, is the responsibility of the relevant local authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated regulations. The assessment of individual applicants for social housing support is a matter for the individual local authority, and each application is examined on a case by case basis. It is a matter for the local authority to determine the housing solution that best meets the needs of the applicant, while taking into account the resources and type of housing available to the authority. 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 and the Rental Accommodation Scheme, to determine the most appropriate form of support for that household. My Department does not have a breakdown of the number of households supported by RAS or HAP which include people with disabilities.

My Department has made resources available under a range of schemes to local authorities which allow them to seek the most appropriate housing solution available to meet the housing needs of those households presenting. In a situation where a tenant has been deemed eligible for RAS, and the landlord (providing the property meets the necessary standards, is registered with the RTB and is tax compliant etc.) is also willing to enter a RAS agreement, there is no obstacle to the authority progressing such an application.

I have provided €134.3 million in Budget 2018 to support the cost of RAS. Monies are provided on an Exchequer neutral basis to meet the costs of persons transferring from the Rent Supplement (RS) Scheme to the RAS. This funding will go towards supporting 600 additional RAS tenancies in 2018 and the ongoing costs of the 19,900 RAS contracts estimated to be in place at end 2017.

I continue to keep the RAS and HAP schemes under review. However, I am generally satisfied with the operation of both schemes and I see them as important tools in meeting the ambitious targets set under Rebuilding Ireland.