COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, December 14, 2020

QUESTION NO. 2

QUESTION: Councillor Carly Bailey

To ask the Chief Executive whether priority status for social housing has been considered for women experiencing domestic abuse and their children and would he care to make a statement on the matter?

REPLY:

The Council's current Allocations Scheme awards priority in certain circumstances, including for families or persons rendered homeless through no fault of their own including where there is no accommodation available which they might reasonably remain in occupation of, or where they are living in emergency or supported accommodation and in exceptional medical/compassionate grounds.  Similarly, transfers are only granted in certain specific circumstances including based on exceptional medical/compassionate grounds or due to anti-social behaviour.  These provisions  can effectively allow priority to be awarded to families suffering from domestic abuse where required while emergency accommodation can also be provided in the first instance for persons requiring urgent re-location particularly where dedicated support organisations are not in a position to do so.  In addition, where appropriate the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme can provide an additional option for a family to identify a private rented property in a safe area of their choice where that is a more satisfactory solution.

Our staff in the housing welfare, allocations and homeless teams work with various organisations that assist persons experiencing domestic abuse on an ongoing basis to support and progress the best individual solutions in each case while noting that each case has different circumstances and sensitivities requiring varying responses.