Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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584. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will outline the counties that currently have the homelessness rate of HAP available to people in need in their respective counties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2154/23]

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, a dedicated resource, the Place Finder Service, has been established nationwide to provide assistance. The Place Finder Service can assist qualified households in finding suitable tenancies by facilitating access to appropriate 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.

Each local authority now has statutory discretion to agree to a HAP payment up to 35% above the prescribed maximum rent limit to secure appropriate accommodation for a household that requires it, or up to 50% in the case of homeless households in the Dublin region. The additional discretion available to homeless households recognises the difficulty this cohort of households face in sourcing and securing properties in a highly competitive rental market.

The Dublin Region Homeless Executive operates Homeless HAP on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities.

A separate review of the discretion available to Homeless HAP tenancies in Dublin, which is up to 50% above the prescribed maximum rent limits, is currently being undertaken by my Department, in conjunction with the Housing Agency.