Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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670. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the budget for HAP in 2019. [42348/18]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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671. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the budget for homeless HAP in 2019. [42349/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 670 and 671 together.

Under Budget 2019, the total Exchequer funding available for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), including Homeless HAP, next year is €422m. This funding will provide for the continued support of existing HAP households and also enable the additional 16,760 households targeted under Rebuilding Ireland to be supported by HAP in 2019, as well as supporting the roll-out of the Homeless HAP Place Finder Support Service across the country.

The Homeless HAP Place Finder Service is now available to each of the 31 local authorities, with the options to pay deposits and advance rental payments for any households in emergency homeless accommodation, in order to secure accommodation via the HAP Scheme.