Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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548. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the local authorities that have appointed a HAP pathfinder; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38454/19]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I assume that the Deputy is referring to the Homeless HAP Place Finder Service.

The Place Finder Service is a targeted support for homeless households who are finding it difficult to secure HAP tenancies and has been successfully utilised by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DRHE) across the 4 Dublin local authorities since February 2015. The Place Finder Service assists homeless households in exiting emergency accommodation, primarily by sourcing suitable accommodation and by providing access to the payment of a deposit and up to two months advance rent, within the HAP limits, on the behalf of the HAP recipient

It has been rolled out nationally, across all local authorities, with effect from January 2018 and all local authorities are entitled to apply for approval for a dedicated resource. It should be noted that a local authority does not need to have a dedicated Place Finder personnel resource in place to utilise the Homeless HAP structures such as deposit and advance rent.

More than 6,200 households have been supported by the Homeless HAP scheme in the Dublin region up to the end of Q2, 2019. Nationally, the corresponding figure was over 8,100 households.

My Department has, to date, approved funding for the appointment of 23 Place Finders. Currently, there are 22 Place Finders operating out of 24 local authorities. Other local authorities indicated that they are satisfied with their existing homeless service. The operation of local homeless services, including the Place Finder Service, is a matter for each local authority.

The information requested is set out in the following table: