Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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290. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of housing applicants receiving homeless HAP through Fingal County Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59428/22]

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. Under HAP, tenants source their own accommodation in the private rented market. However, additional supports are available under HAP for homeless households or households at risk of homelessness. While eligible households or individuals may source accommodation for themselves under the Homeless HAP scheme, additional supports are available in all local authorities.

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.

A dedicated resource, the Place Finder Service, has been established nationwide to assist qualified households in finding suitable tenancies and facilitate access to appropriate additional supports. The operation of local homeless services, including the Place Finder Service, is a matter for each local authority.

The Dublin Region Homeless Executive operates Homeless HAP on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities. At the end of Q2 2022, 1,339 households in Fingal County Council were actively supported under the Homeless HAP Scheme.