Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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395. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the total number in each county in receipt of local authority provided special accommodation for older persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26445/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The allocation of local authority dwellings, including for specific groups such as older people,  is, in accordance with relevant regulations, a matter for individual local authorities. As such I have no function relating to such allocations, nor does my Department collate information from local authorities in relation to their allocations. 

Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority administrative area are provided in the statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA). The SSHA has been conducted on an annual basis since 2016, prior to which it was carried out once every three years, with the last Summary under this approach having taken place in 2013.

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

www.gov.ie/en/publication/970ea-summary-of-social-housing-assessments-2020-key-findings/#:~:text=The%20Summary%20of%20Social%20Housing,is%20not%20currently%20being%20met.

It is important to note that only the results of the 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 summaries are directly comparable with each other. These summaries were carried out using a standardised methodology as specified by the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011. Previous summaries were not carried out under the current standardised assessment regime for social housing support which came into effect on 1 April 2011.

As there were no assessments carried out in 2012, 2014 or 2015 my Department does not have data for those years.

Below are links to the Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) for 2011 and SSHA reports for 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 which contain data broken down by local authority area.  

Report 2019

Report 2018

Report 2017

Report 2016

Report 2013

HNA 2011

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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396. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 344 of 11 May 2021, the details of all other forms of social housing included in the figure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26446/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Limerick City and County Council provide a highly effective HAP transactional shared service on behalf of all local authorities. The HAP Shared Services Centre (HAP SSC) manages all HAP related rental transactions for the tenant, local authority and landlord but does not capture further details of closed tenancies that transfer to other forms of social housing. The management of individual HAP tenancy exits is a matter for each individual local authority.

Similarly, my Department does not gather specific detail on RAS tenancies moving to other forms of social housing. The management of individual RAS properties is a matter for each individual local authority, in accordance with the contractual arrangements entered into in respect of each property. Under RAS, local authorities retain the responsibility to source further accommodation for a RAS household should the dwelling that the household is living in become unavailable through no fault of their own. 

Legislation provides that both HAP and RAS are considered to be forms of social housing support. Households in receipt of HAP and RAS are, therefore, not eligible to remain on the main housing waiting list. However, acknowledging that some households on the waiting list, who avail of HAP and RAS, have expectations that they would receive a more traditional form of social housing support, recipients can avail of a move to other forms of social housing through a transfer list. 

RAS and HAP continue to be effective and secure forms of social housing support, and remain a significant part of the suite of social housing options currently available to those who are assessed as being in need of housing support.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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397. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of long-term leases active in north County Kildare in each year from 2009 to 2020 inclusive and to date in 2021; the annual cost of each lease type for each year in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26460/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP) supports the delivery of social housing by providing financial support to local authorities for the long term leasing of houses and apartments from private owners and Approved Housing Bodies.

At end 2020, a total of 273 leased properties were supported under SHCEP across all leasing delivery programmes in Kildare County Council. A breakdown of the total number of leased dwellings by lease type for each year 2014 to 2020 is set out in Table 1 below.  A detailed breakdown by lease type is not available for the period 2009 to 2013.

Details of the annual cost of each lease type in each year from 2018 to 2020 is set out in Table 2 below. Data in relation to the cost of each lease type is not available for the period 2009 to 2017.  Leasing delivery data for Q1 2021 is currently being collated so the data requested for 2021 is not yet available.

All data is based on local authority claims for operational agreements recorded on the Department's SHCEP financial management system. Any variations in data between operational figures and total output under leasing delivery streams may be due to the time lag in the submission of claims to my Department in respect of new claims after delivery.

Table 1: Kildare County Council, Leasing Year End Figures 2014 to 2020 (as part of SHCEP)

Table 2: Kildare County Council, Leasing end 2018 to 2020 Spend