Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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263. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the supports his Department will provide to non-homeless persons that may be approved for HAP but are unable to find accommodation that will accept same or that is within the threshold; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27618/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a form of social housing support for people who have a long-term housing need. Any household assessed as eligible for social housing is immediately eligible for HAP and those households must source their own accommodation in the private rental sector.

A landlord or an agent acting on behalf of a landlord is not legally obliged to enter into a tenancy agreement specifically with a HAP recipient. However, on 1 January 2016, the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 introduced “housing assistance” as a new discriminatory ground. This means that discrimination in the provision of accommodation, or related service and amenities, against people in receipt of rent supplement, HAP or other social welfare payments is prohibited. Further information is available at www.ihrec.ie/your-rights/i-have-an-issue-with-a-service/i-have-an-issue-about-accommodation/

If a person feels that he or she has been discriminated against by a landlord or agent, he or she can make a complaint under the Equal Status Acts to the Workplace Relations Commission; further information is available on the Commission's website, www.workplacerelations.ie.

Each local authority has statutory discretion to agree to a HAP payment up to a maximum of 20% above the prescribed maximum rent limit in circumstances where it is necessary, because of local rental market conditions, to secure appropriate accommodation for a household that requires it. It is a matter for the local authority to determine if the application of the flexibility is warranted on a case by case basis.

Under HAP, households at risk of homelessness may be eligible for additional supports. To qualify for specific additional supports available to homeless households, a household must have been determined by the relevant local authority to be homeless within the meaning of section 2 of the Housing Act 1988. The operation of local homeless services, including the Place Finder Service, is a matter for each local authority.

While there is no legislative provision precluding HAP supported households contributing towards the monthly rent required by a landlord, local authorities have a responsibility to ensure that tenancies are sustainable and that households in HAP are in a position to meet the rental costs involved.

The Programme for Government commits to ensuring that HAP levels are adequate to support vulnerable households, while we increase the supply of social housing. My Department continues to keep the operation of the HAP scheme under review and it is a key mechanism in meeting housing need across the Country.

Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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264. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount of housing assistance payments that have been paid out to private landlords in County Kildare since the payment was introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27619/21]

Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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265. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount of rental accommodation scheme payments that have been paid out to private landlords in County Kildare since the payment was introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27620/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 264 and 265 together.

The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a flexible and immediate housing support that is available to all eligible households throughout the State. At end Q4 2020 there were nearly 60,000 households in receipt of HAP and over 33,520 separate landlords and agents providing accommodation to households supported by the scheme.

In respect of the provision of HAP funding, Limerick City and County Council provides a highly effective HAP transactional shared service on behalf of all local authorities. This HAP Shared Services Centre (SSC) manages all HAP related rental transactions for the tenant, local authority and landlord. Accordingly, my Department does not recoup individual local authorities in respect of HAP rental payments in their administrative areas but, rather, recoups all landlord costs via the HAP SSC.

Data in relation to the funding provided by the State in 2019 and 2020, broken down by local authority area, can be found on my Department's website at this link:

www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/#housing-assistance-payment

This funding represents the portion paid by my Department after receipt of the differential rent which is paid by the tenant to the local authority. It does not include administration costs related to the Scheme.

The overall cost of supporting the HAP Scheme to the Exchequer for the period 2015-2020 is outlined in the table below:

The Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) has been an important contributor to social housing supply since its introduction on a pilot basis in 2005 and has placed responsibility on local authorities to meet the accommodation needs of people in receipt of Rent Supplement for 18 months or longer, and who are assessed as having a long-term housing need. RAS has provided a more structured, accommodation-based approach to the use of the private rented sector to meet long-term housing need, thereby eliminating dependence on temporary income support payments through Rent Supplement. The scheme is delivered by local authorities who source accommodation from the private market and Approved Housing Bodies. Expenditure under the scheme covers recoupment made to local authorities for contracted rents due to private landlords and Approved Housing Bodies, administration costs and deposits on newly acquired accommodation.

While data for individual counties for the years prior to 2011 is not available, details for the period from 2011 to 2020 on the number and cost to the exchequer of tenancies funded under the RAS scheme in County Kildare, is available on my Department's website, titled RAS Current Expenditure Housing Programmes 2011 to 2020, at the following link: gov.ie- Overall social housing provision (www.gov.ie).

The RAS and HAP schemes 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 across the country.