Housing (Houses of the Oireachtas)

Housing - Adaptation grant scheme - eligibility

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers] For the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, household income is calculated as the annual gross income in the previous tax year of all household members over 18, or over 23 if in full-time education, with the exclusion of Family Income Supplement...

Housing - Adaptation grant scheme - eligibility

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers]...his plans to conduct a review of the terms and conditions of the housing grant scheme to allow local authorities to use discretion in the awarding of house repair grants for older persons such as in the case in which a person has transferred ownership of their home over to one of...

Housing - Approved housing bodies - issues relating to

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers] The Government has put in place the funding required to accelerate the delivery of social housing across all local authority areas. In Budget 2018, I secured €1.9 billion for housing programmes, a 46% increase over 2017. This investment will ensure that over 25,000 households will ...

Housing - Approved housing bodies - issues relating to

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers]...if he has satisfied himself that AHBs have secured sites and funding to enable them to meet their revised new build targets for 2018 to 2021. [Q. No(s) 54 to Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government ]

Housing - Data - issues relating to

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers] Under the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, a key objective is to increase the supply of housing to 25,000 homes per annum. As we improve our housing systems and put in place a housing delivery model that is sustainable and responsive to cha...

Housing - Data - issues relating to

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers]...his views on the system of assessing building completions used by his department; his plans to develop a more accurate system for recording housing and apartment building completions; the position regarding the work of the internal group within his department tasked with examinin...

Housing - Expert Panel on Concrete Blocks - issues relating to

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers] The Expert Panel on concrete blocks was established by my Department in 2016, to investigate problems that have emerged in the concrete blockwork of certain dwellings in Counties Donegal and Mayo. The panel had the following terms of reference: (i) To identify, insofar as it is...

Housing - Expert Panel on Concrete Blocks - issues relating to

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers]...the actions his department has implemented to help homeowners affected by the MICA issue; his plans to set up a redress scheme; the timeframe for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [Q. No(s) 21 to Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government ]

Housing - Homeless accommodation - funding

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers] The purposes for which housing authorities may incur expenditure in addressing homelessness are set out in section 10 of the Housing Act 1988. Under that section, funding is provided annually to local authorities, on a regional basis, and the responsibility for the disbursement of...

Housing - Homeless accommodation - funding

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers]...the reason the midlands region receives a disproportionate homeless allocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [Q. No(s) 15 to Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government ]

Housing - Homeless accommodation - provision

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers] My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. My Department does not have a role in relation to operational is...

Housing - Homeless accommodation - provision

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers] At the end of September 2017, some 690 families were being provided with temporary accommodation in hotel and B&B arrangements in the Dublin Region. This number is down from the total of 871 recorded at the end of March 2017 and must also be considered in the context of the ongoin...

Housing - Homeless accommodation - provision

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers]...his views on whether the process that homeless persons must go through when there is no placement available for them from the DRHE to be satisfactory in view of the chronic shortage of both emergency placements and hotel and guesthouse accommodation; his plans to make changes; an...

Housing - Homeless accommodation - provision

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers]...the status of his plan to end the use of hotels, bed and breakfasts and similar accommodation for homeless persons; if his targets are being met; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [Q. No(s) 22 to Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government ]

Housing - Homeless persons - data

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers] My Department produces reports on a monthly basis capturing details of individuals utilising State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements. These reports are based on data provided by housing authorities and produced through the Pathway Accommodation & Support System (PASS). T...

Housing - Homeless persons - data

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers]...the number of homeless persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [Q. No(s) 34 to Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government ]

Housing - Homelessness - strategy

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Written Answers] Arising from the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, my Department is funding an initiative to provide homeless families, residing in hotel accommodation and family hubs in the Dublin Region, with access to free public transport for essential school journey...

Housing - Homelessness - strategy

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Oral Answers]...the allocation of additional funding to homelessness services announced in budget 2018; if he has revised targets for reducing the number of homeless families and children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [Q. No(s) 3 to Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Governm...

Housing - Homelessness - strategy

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Questions] In light of the extra €18 million made available in the budget for homeless provision and funding for the homeless to assist in finding solutions to this issue, will the Minister now revise the targets he had set, and can he made them public?[Cowen, Barry]

Housing - Homelessness - strategy

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Questions] Budget 2018 provides for an allocation of €116 million for homeless services, which is an additional €18 million, or 18%, on this year's provision of roughly €98 million, and a 66% increase on the 2016 provision of €70 million. The long-term solution to the current homelessness challe...

Housing - Homelessness - strategy

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Questions] To be more specific, has the Government adjusted its targets for eradicating homelessness arising from the allocations made in the budget and, if so, what are they? Are all families removed from hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation in keeping with 1 July target? Where do we stand...

Housing - Homelessness - strategy

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Questions] I advise the Deputy that we released the homeless figures for September earlier this evening. In Dublin, for the second month in a row, and this is the first time this has happened in three years, we are exiting more families into secure and sustainable homes than are entering our emerg...

Housing - Homelessness - strategy

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Questions] All the three categories of homelessness - adults, child and family - are up on the previous month. The Minister should tell the truth.[Ó Broin, Eoin]

Housing - Homelessness - strategy

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Questions] That is the truth.[Murphy, Eoghan]

Housing - Homelessness - strategy

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Questions] The truth is that all three categories are up.[Ó Broin, Eoin]

Housing - Homelessness - strategy

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Questions] That is exactly the truth. For the first time in three years, and for two months in a row, we are exiting more families into secure accommodation than are entering our emergency accommodation.[Murphy, Eoghan]

Housing - Homelessness - strategy

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Questions] The September figures for all three categories are up on August.[Ó Broin, Eoin]

Housing - Homelessness - strategy

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Questions] That is the case for August and September. This is welcome progress. I know it is too slow and that we need to do more. The Government recognises that, and that is why we have increased our funding for homelessness services next year. We have also increased our HAP supports for next ...

Housing - Homelessness - strategy

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Questions] Again, I will try to be specific to ensure that people can plainly understand where we are at or what progress is being made or likely to be made. The Minister said more homeless families are exiting homelessness and I do not doubt that, but as Deputy Ó Broin alluded to, unfortunately, ...

Housing - Homelessness - strategy

Sitting date: 26/10/2017
[Questions] To clarify, nationally the number of families accessing emergency accommodation services is up, with 89 presentations in September nationally, but the overall trend is also downward. The rate of increase between July and September of 1.8% nationally is much lower than the average for th...