Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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650. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of proposals for a housing passport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21526/19]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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It is already possible for households to move and relocate between housing authority areas, including relocating from an urban to a rural location, under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme.

Under the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, a household may apply to one housing authority only for social housing support, at a time. Currently it is not possible for a household on the waiting list of one housing authority to transfer its application to another authority and to carry the time spent on the previous list (special arrangements that apply where there is more than one housing authority in a county, as is the case in Dublin, Cork and Galway).

A commitment has been given to examine the possibility of introducing a “housing passport”. The basic premise is that households in receipt of, or qualified for, social housing support in one local authority area could potentially transfer to, or be allocated, social housing in another local authority area. I am currently finalising proposals in relation to this matter. It is my intention to bring forward any proposed changes needed to implement the passport proposal to Government as part of a comprehensive social housing reform package of measures in the near future.