Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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57. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his Department continues to fund local authorities and the Housing Agency to acquire houses for tenants on a notice to quit and that no caps have been set for local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36948/24]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Minister provide an update on the scheme he introduced, the tenant in situ notice-to-quit scheme? It is successful. Will he provide an update on how it continues to be rolled out through the Department to local authorities such that local authorities are in no doubt that this scheme will be well funded into the future?

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his question. Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new-build social homes in the period 2022 to 2026. Our clear focus is to increase the stock of social housing through new-build projects delivered by local authorities and approved housing bodies. For 2023, the Government agreed increased provision for social housing acquisitions. This has continued into 2024 and my Department has approved funding for the acquisition of 1,500 homes this year by local authorities and approved housing bodies. This is 1,300 more than the target originally set for 2024 in Housing for All and speaks to the Government's commitment in this regard. The additional acquisitions are focused on properties where a tenant in receipt of social housing supports has received a notice of termination due to the landlord’s intention to sell the property. Each local authority has been provided with a provisional allocation for social housing acquisitions in 2024 with additional headroom of 50% on the allocation available under delegated sanction. Acquisitions above this are subject to a sanction request. The Department issued a circular letter to local authorities in March and additional guidance in this regard in June. It is a matter for individual local authorities to identify suitable acquisitions in line with local circumstances and their social housing allocation policy.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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As I said, it is a positive initiative and we are getting value for money because the State is no longer paying for RAS or HAP for the property; it is buying an asset. More importantly, it gives tenants certainty and ensures they have a forever home in areas in which they are part of their communities. I am worried about the guideline figure issued to councils and that councils need, for every house thereafter, to seek approval from the Department. That seems overly bureaucratic and removes the power of the director of services or housing officer in local authorities to decide something is good value for money and meets a housing need where there is no alternative.

Another issue is whether there is any relationship between the landlord and tenant. Local authorities seem to rule that out of order, which is strange considering the State has been paying HAP or RAS in the previous years. Will the Minister of State address those issues?

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his positive feedback on the scheme. I re-emphasise that local authorities have been asked to focus on RAS and HAP properties where the tenant has been issued a notice of termination. There is no ceiling in the sanction of acquisitions. Properties already in social housing help to mitigate against the risk of a negative impact on the tenant in ensuring we can address potential homelessness, which continues to be a challenge with the exit of landlords from the private rental market. In the Deputy's constituency in Longford, in 2023, 17 properties were acquired and in 2024, with a 50% increase on the original allocation, Longford and Westmeath requested up to 84 additional acquisitions. This demonstrates the Government's response in the approval of acquisitions.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I should have said on the record that I am a landlord but I have not issued any notices to quit. Will the Minister of State clarify whether local authorities, once they meet the ceiling, need to come to the Department on a case-by-case basis for approval? Has guidance been issued by the Department about whether, where there is a link between the landlord and tenant regarding a family relationship, the local authorities cannot purchase that property?

Flexibility is required. I am aware of a family in which there was a marital breakdown. The husband is gone and the court issued an order to sell the property, which is effectively a notice to quit. There are three children, two of whom have autism. The mother is a full-time carer. She has been approved to join the housing list but the local authority said it is unable to purchase that house. That is wrong. It is her home and that of her children. She is effectively on a notice to quit, not from a landlord but due to the court order to sell the property. Flexibility would be welcome in schemes like this.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I will talk to the Deputy about the case he mentioned offline. In July, the Minister wrote to local authorities about this matter. We worked closely with local authorities, which can be seen in the feedback. There is a cross-sectional team and steering group on acquisitions in place to support households and local authorities in acquisitions. Any request for additional acquisitions above a certain threshold will be taken on a case-by-case basis. Other than that, it is up to local authorities to do evaluations and assessments and to make the subsequent applications for acquisitions. This is an important scheme in supporting tenancies which may be vulnerable to evictions. We will continue to support this scheme in this year's budget.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Táimid ag bogadh ar aghaidh anois go dtí an chéad cheist eile. Tá Ceist Uimh. 58 in ainm an Teachta Eoin Ó Broin.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle-----

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I beg your pardon. I completely forgot; I will break all the rules just for the moment because the fault is mine. I meant to let Deputy Durkan in on the last question. I am breaking the rules but I am at fault.

Deputy Malcolm Noonan: I assure the Deputies that thyere is no lack of political will. It is our utomst priority. I appreciate the support from the committee and across the House. It is not tos ay there is any conflict between offshore renewables and marine biodiversity. As I said, the ecological sensititivty analsyes has been condueced for the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. They will contineut inform processes around esignation and areas fit for offhsore renewblae. Separately, I mentioned the two SPAs, in aprticular the largest in the history of the Irish State, tje seas off Wexford, have brought us closer to the 10r% tsrict??? protection, which was set out in the programme for Government. We are there in that regard. This is the last piece of the jigsaw the MPA legislation. We want it to be published. I would love for it to get through the Houses of the Oireacthas in the lifetime of this Government but that is not something I am in control of. I stress that every effort is being made. I am also conscious that when I met fishing communities going back three or four years ago, they want this from a hiertiage perspective to protect fisheries

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I am sorry. I strongly support the sentiments expressed by my colleague. I compliment the Minister and Ministers of State for the progress to date in what was a difficult and tall task in relation to housing generally.

The policies are working. However, there is a need for a fast kick forward at this time because a large number of people who have been renting for a long period and now find themselves, through no fault of their own, being issued with notices to quit are coming on the market. At this stage, we need the Minister and Ministers of State to examine the possibility of introducing something that applies specifically to persons in such emergency situations with a view to taking them out of the homeless market. They have done their best to alleviate their housing problems over the years and are now looking for assistance.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I will not ask the Minister to respond.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I am sorry about that.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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It was my fault.