HAP money would be better spent on State-owned housing
■ ‘Rebuilding Ireland’ was launched in July 2016. It had five main points of action.
There are over 9,500 citizens homeless in Ireland today and that number is rising. This figure does not take into account people with disabilities who are in unsuitable accommodation such as nursing homes, it does not count those housed in domestic violence refuges, and it leaves out almost 600 people who have been granted asylum but cannot leave direct provision because of the lack of affordable housing.
The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) had 31,200 people on it in 2017, which represents a significant increase since 2010 and those figures are projected to rise. There are significant problems with HAP for those on the housing list – not least the fact that by accepting a HAP tenancy people must agree to be removed from the housing list, so someone with a long-term housing need who accepts a HAP tenancy has relinquished their chance to be permanently housed in a local authority-owned property and instead is dependent on a private landlord and their willingness to continue renting the property.
There are considerable difficulties for prospective tenants in finding suitable properties to rent, with many landlords reportedly unwilling to enter into a HAP agreement. HAP also represents a poor investment for the State, with taxpayers’ money being transferred into the hands of private landlords. Recent reports indicate that in some areas the spiralling costs of rents mean that it would cost only 50pc of projected HAP payments to construct State-owned housing for the tenants, which the State would then have as an asset long into the future.
At present, the State is spending €900m of its annual housing budget on subsidising private landlords and homeless services. As reported by George Lee for RTÉ on July 18, this is projected to increase by €1.7bn by 2022, bringing the likely figures to well over €2bn. This represents a really poor use of taxpayers’ money and unless the regulations around renting and tenancy in Ireland are overhauled, it will fail to provide secure and safe homes for people who desperately need them.
Dermot Hayes Ennis, Co Clare