Social Housing Passport Bill 2026: First Stage

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin

I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to allow the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to introduce a social housing passport in order to allow households on social housing waiting lists, or in receipt of social housing support, to transfer their social housing file, or their social housing support, to another local authority based on criteria set out in regulations laid down by the Minister.

The Government is not delivering a sufficient volume of good quality social homes. This is why people are waiting so long for the social housing allocations and why so many single people and families are homeless. The Government is also putting many other barriers in the way of people having their social housing need met. Probably one of the most significant barriers is the inability of people when their life circumstances change to be able to move from one local authority housing list to another and not be punished by losing their time on the list. The legislation we are introducing today gives the Minister for housing the power by way of regulations to introduce a social housing passport that will resolve this matter. It creates a set of circumstances whereby if somebody's life circumstances change and they need to move from one local authority to another they can move to that local authority housing list and keep their years intact.

The group of people who most urgently need this change are women fleeing domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, and that is a key part of the legislation. For people who get a job offer, who get an opportunity to study, who need to move to access permanent medical care or who for humanitarian or compassionate reasons need to move, a social housing passport is absolutely vital. It was in contained in the housing plans of former Ministers, Deputy Alan Kelly, Simon Coveney, and the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O'Brien but it has been dropped from the current programme for Government, which is deeply regrettable.

The Bill attempts to address a very practical and straightforward problem. We hope the Government will support it. It also contains an important provision, subject to negotiations between the Minister for housing here and his counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive to explore the opportunities to operate this on an all-Ireland basis, again on the same grounds. It is sensible and practical and we will seek to introduce this Bill on Second Stage as soon as possible. We look forward to the Government's support.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I want to thank my colleague, Teachta Eoin Ó Broin, for his work on this legislation. It is very much required simply because of the length of time that families are left on social housing waiting lists. In my area, it is 14 years. That is hard to believe, is it not? They are left for so long that they are forced to move to counties and places outside of their original area. What happens then is that their kids join clubs and they join schools. It is more acute when we are looking at families who have children with special needs because they access services and they become embedded in the community. When it is time for them to go back to their original area, they cannot afford to leave all of those supports. It is very cruel that they are forced to make a choice about losing those years because they are simply left waiting.

I want to briefly mention a woman in my area. I have mentioned this case many times. She moved from the city centre to north county Dublin.

She has been advised by the Garda to remain where she is for her own safety. Her ex nearly killed her. He is now out of prison and living in the area where she was originally on the housing list. Some 12 years later, she is faced with an impossible choice. She should not have to make that impossible choice. She should not have to choose between her own safety and losing those years. That is why she requires a social housing passport, and why a social housing passport is essential.

Deputy Mark Ward

I thank my constituency colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, for the work he has done on this legislation. The Social Housing Passport Bill is a really important piece of legislation. It provides a person with the ability to move from one local authority list to another without losing their time on the housing list. I first raised this issue back in 2019 when I got elected in a by-election. It was in the 2020 programme for Government, but it was not included in the 2025 programme for Government.

I am going to put my Dublin hat on because this measure is particularly needed in Dublin. Despite being the capital of our State, Dublin is a small county and people move across the four local authorities. For example, a HAP tenant on the Dublin City Council list cannot move to South Dublin County Council's list without losing their time on that list. One of the reasons the social housing passport is badly needed is a direct consequence of the housing list and the amount of time people are left languishing on it.

I previously raised the case of a constituent living in my area in Newcastle, which is in South Dublin County Council's area. She has been living in Newcastle for 12 years. She set down her roots in the Newcastle area and her children go to school there but, because she is on Dublin City Council's list, she cannot apply for any of the homes that become available in the Newcastle area. If she wants to secure long-term housing, she will have to uproot her family. I hope the Government will support this Bill as it progresses through the House.