Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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106. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he is examining the possibility for his Department to hand over properties in its possession to be refurbished and provided as affordable rental accommodation under a Defence Forces housing trust for military personnel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37821/18]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The provision of housing accommodation is a matter in the first instance for my colleague the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government and the local authorities falling under the remit of that Department, for its part my Department is committed to providing whatever assistance possible to support the implementation of the Government strategy on housing and homelessness.

In this regard, the Department engages with local authorities in relation to the transfer of appropriate property holdings outside of barracks that are no longer required for military purposes and that could form part of the general housing stock available to local authorities. It should be noted that particular issues arise in relation to providing accommodation to civilians within an operational military barracks, foremost amongst them being security.

Given that my Department is not the policy holder in this area and is already engaged as a matter of course with the relevant housing authorities in relation to the transfer of appropriate property as outlined above, it is not envisaged that the Department would in effect develop an additional administrative mechanism to replicate the function of a housing authority.

In relation to specific cases of difficulty, when requested to do so, the Department and the Defence Forces provide whatever support possible to assist personnel in accessing available housing supports. In addition, the services of the Defence Forces Personnel Support Service are also available if required.