Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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264. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if consideration has been given to extending the HAP scheme to the sponsor prior to the arrival of the family in relation to cases of family reunification; if so, if there is an outcome regarding the consideration; and, if not, if this is something his Department will consider. [9499/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Persons granted international protection status (refugee status or subsidiary protection status) can access State provided supports and services on the same basis as Irish nationals. The rights to family reunification are set out in the International Protection Act 2015.

Any household assessed as eligible for social housing is immediately eligible for housing support through the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme. Once a household has been deemed eligible for social housing support, it is a matter for the local authority to examine the suite of social housing supports available, including the HAP scheme, to determine the most appropriate form of social housing support for that household in the administrative area of that local authority. Where household composition changes, such as in the case of family reunification, an application can be made to the local authority for a new HAP payment for another property.

Broader policy in relation to such matters is set out in the White Paper to end direct provision and to establish a new International Protection Support Service. My Department supports the work of my colleague the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in the detailed design of the new model of accommodation as set out in the White Paper. It is within that context that any adjustments will be examined as part of the broader social housing reform agenda.