COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, April 13, 2015

QUESTION NO. 2

QUESTION: Councillor M. Devine

To ask the Chief Executive for a report from the Housing Department detailing numbers awaiting allocation and transfer.

What is the Councils present strategy with regards to prioritizing homeless families and those awaiting transfer on medical grounds?

REPLY:

Currently there are 8671 applicants on South Dublin’s Housing List and 768 applicants on the Transfer List.

Normally all housing is allocated in accordance with the Councils Allocation Scheme.  In respect of priority allocations the scheme states

In certain circumstances, overall priority will be given to applicants that satisfy the following criteria. Priority will be granted in the order shown hereunder and subject to the availability of suitable accommodation at the time:

(i)       Families or persons living in dangerous premises on whom a requisition under Section 3 (9) of the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1964 has been served.

(ii)      Displacement (resulting from acts of the Local Authority).

(iii)   Families or persons rendered homeless through no fault of their own. A person shall be regarded by a housing authority as being homeless for the purposes of this Act if:

(a)      there is no accommodation available which, in the opinion of the authority, he/she, together with any other person who normally resides with him/her or who might reasonably be expected to reside with him/her, can reasonably occupy or remain in occupation of, or

(b)      he/she is living in a hospital, County home, night shelter, or other such institution and is so living because he/she has no accommodation of the kind referred to in paragraph (a), and he/she, in the opinion of the authority, unable to provide accommodation from his/her own resources.

(iv)   Families or persons evicted through no fault of their own on foot of a Court Order who are not in a financial position to provide their own housing.

(v)     Exceptional medical/compassionate grounds.

(vi)   Persons aged 65 or over for Older Persons accommodation.

Applicants with overall priority will be given priority over other applicants in the allocation of available accommodation in the order of priority indicated above and based on time on the list and subject to the availability of suitable accommodation at the time.

Determination of priority on medical grounds is determined by the Council’s Medical Officer.

However in response to the current homeless crisis the Minister issued a Directive on the 27th January 2015 whereby:

"at least 50% of the dwellings available for allocation under Section 22 of the 2009 Act during the specified period will be allocated to households that are qualified for social housing support (i.e. those who are on the record of qualified households) and that, on or before 1 December 2014, have been deemed by the authority to have one or more than one of the following needs:

 (i) was in an institution, emergency accommodation or a hostel (i.e. a homeless household within the meaning of Section 2 of the Housing Act 1988);

 (ii) has an accommodation requirement arising from an enduring physical, sensory, mental health or intellectual impairment (i.e. households where one of its members has a disability and as such is deemed to be a vulnerable household); and

 (iii) was in accommodation that was unsuitable for the household's adequate housing on exceptional medical or compassionate grounds (i.e. including households the subject of domestic violence and young people leaving State care and as such deemed to be a vulnerable household)."

 Accordingly all allocations at this time are made firstly in accordance with the ministers directive and thereafter in accordance with the Councils Allocation Scheme.