Written answers
Wednesday, 7 February 2024
Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government
Legislative Measures
Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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266. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he is preparing legislation to address issues of habitual residency and social housing support eligibility; and if so, the purpose and potential scope of the legislation. [5258/24]
Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended.
Social housing support is intended to address a household’s long-term housing need it is expected that any household applying for such support should have a long-term right to reside in the State.
In this context, the Government has recently approved the drafting of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 which includes provisions to introduce a requirement for legal and habitual residence as an eligibility criterion for social housing support. I recently wrote to the Chair of the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, enclosing the general scheme and advising my Department is happy to assist the Committee in the course of its deliberations as part of the pre-legislate scrutiny process.
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