Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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590. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of housing assistance payment recipients benefiting from discretionary payment increases, by county; the number of homeless housing assistance payment recipients benefiting from discretionary payments; the average increase per county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15096/19]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme, tenants source their own accommodation. The accommodation sourced by tenants should be within the prescribed maximum HAP rent limits, which are based on household size and the rental market within the area concerned.

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 to determine if the application of the flexibility is warranted on a case by case basis.

The information requested in relation to number of HAP recipients benefiting from discretionary increases and the average level of discretion, by local authority, at the end of Quarter 4, 2018, is set out in the following table:

Additional discretion of up to 50% above rent limits is available to assist in housing homeless households in the Dublin Region. 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.

The following table provides details on the use of discretion in the Dublin local authority areas including the DRHE tenancies:

At the end of Q4 2018, 33.1% of the total number of households being supported by HAP were benefiting from the additional flexibility. When the additional discretion available to homeless households in the Dublin region is removed, 26.6% of households nationally were benefiting from the additional flexibility. In those cases, the average rate of discretionary payment being used was 16.2% above rent limits provided. This increases to 21.8% when the Dublin region homeless area data is included.

I continue to keep the operation of HAP under review but I am currently satisfied with how the scheme is operating and I consider it to be a key vehicle for meeting current housing need and fulfilling the ambitious programme set out in Rebuilding Ireland.