Written answers

Tuesday, 27 November 2018

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Social and Affordable Housing Eligibility

Photo of Brendan SmithBrendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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617. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide detailed consideration to the issues raised by an organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49298/18]

Photo of Eoghan MurphyEoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Responsibility for the development and provision of services to support victims of domestic abuse rests with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the delivery of such services is managed through the Child and Family Agency, Tusla. Housing authorities do not provide or oversee services specifically designed for victims of domestic violence. 

Where victims of domestic violence require continued State support to meet their housing needs, housing authorities are encouraged to work with all service providers to ensure that a victim’s housing eligibility and need is assessed in a timely manner.  A housing authority may consider a victim of domestic violence as having a housing need to be placed on a housing list where all other criteria are met. 

The allocation of social housing is administered by housing authorities in accordance with their allocation schemes made under section 22 of the 2009 Act.  In line with commitments in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness (Action 1.8) and the National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence 2016-2021 (Action 2.30), my Department has issued guidance to all housing authorities in relation to assisting victims of domestic violence with emergency and long-term accommodation needs. The guidance can be accessed using the following link to my Department’s website:

The purpose of this guidance is to ensure an effective and consistent housing response for victims of domestic violence. The guidance covers a range of scenarios that may arise for victims of domestic violence in seeking social housing supports, including provisions around the use of the Housing Assistance Payment scheme, or the , where a victim has a joint interest in the family home, or ownership of alternative accommodation, but would otherwise qualify for social housing support.

Where affordable housing rather than social housing is appropriate, under Budget 2019, the Government has trebled, to €310 million, the funding available for key facilitating infrastructure on local authority sites, to support the provision of affordable homes to purchase or rent, under the Serviced Sites Fund (SSF).  The type of affordable housing that will be delivered on local authority sites may be affordable housing for purchase, under the recently commenced provisions of Part 5 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, or cost rental, which is being advanced on a number of pilot sites before being rolled out further. These initiatives complement other Government actions which help first-time buyers to buy a home, such as the Help to Buy Scheme and the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan.

The new Land Development Agency (LDA) will also contribute significantly to the delivery of affordable housing. All of the State land developed by the LDA will include 40% social and affordable homes to purchase or rent.

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