Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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475. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason for the discrepancy in figures between those given by his Department in the 2020 summary of social housing assessments and those given in the 2020 allocations report by Cork City Council in respect of social housing waiting lists given that these figures were both taken one month apart but show a significant difference. [16752/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority administrative area are provided in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA).

The most recent summary, conducted in November 2020, shows that 61,880 households were assessed as qualified for and being in need of social housing support. This represents a decrease of 6,813 households or 9.9% on the last assessment in June 2019. The total number of households qualified in Cork City in November 2020 was 3,953, representing a decrease of 686 households (-14.8%) between June 2019 and November 2020.

The following is the link to the summary report for 2020 which includes breakdowns by each local authority, including Cork City, across a range of categories.

2020 Report.

In relation to the discrepancy that the Deputy refers to, it should be noted that the SSHA is a point in time snapshot of the demand for social housing support in each local authority area and does not necessarily reflect the dynamic nature of entry to and exit from the housing waiting lists.

Additionally, the key figure reported in the SSHA is referred to as ‘net need’. Net need is the total number of households qualified for social housing support whose need for support is not being met. This total excludes the following households:

- Duplicate applications - Where a household has applied to more than one authority for social housing support, only their first application was included in the count.

- Those in receipt of social housing support - for example, households currently living in local authority rented accommodation, approved housing body accommodation, accommodation provided under the HAP scheme, accommodation provided under the RAS, or accommodation provided under the SHCEP schemes.

- Households on a transfer list - any household that has applied for a transfer from an existing form of social housing support including HAP.

The oversight and management of the lists of qualified households awaiting accommodation, including the allocation and transfer of tenancies, is a matter for the relevant local authority in accordance with Sections 20 and 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Social Housing Assessment and Allocation Regulations, respectively.

In relation to the figure contained within Cork City’s allocation report, the Deputy is directed to the local authority which would be in a position to outline the nature and methodology utilised for the production of their report.