Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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372. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views regarding the recent rent increase in council houses in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25704/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The right of local authorities to set and collect rents on their dwellings is laid down in section 58 of the Housing Act 1966.  The making or amending of such schemes is an executive function and is subject to broad principles set out by the Department, including that rent levels should be based on income and reflect tenants’ ability to pay.

Local discretion and flexibility are inherent in the devolved function of administering rent schemes.  Decisions regarding the increase or decrease in the rent charged to local authority tenants are matters for the individual authority, in this case Limerick City and County Council.

The Programme for Government commits to bringing forward a package of social housing reforms, which includes standardising the differential rents regime across the country to ensure fairness.  Work on the review of the current rent schemes has been ongoing and I have asked my Department to prepare recommendations regarding the potential for a standardised local authority rents system, which I will consider in due course as part of a package of social housing reforms. 

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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373. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of persons on local authority housing waiting lists nationally and by local authority. [25706/21]

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. Since 2016, the numbers have decreased from 91,600 to 61,880, a reduction of 32.4%.

Below is the link to the summary report for 2020 which includes breakdowns by each local authority across a range of categories. 

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.

2020 Report

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/970ea-summary-of-social-housing-assessments-2020-key-findings/