Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 April 2026
744. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if local authorities are obliged to participate in inter-county/council tenant-in-situ agreements/arrangements; whether they decide that they will only consider the scheme for families/individuals on their own housing waiting lists; if he will provide the guidelines or circular addressing this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30971/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraTenancy sustainment, tenant in situ is an option for local authorities to support households in the most precarious housing situations. Such acquisitions are, and will continue to be, available to local authorities for use as a last resort when all other options have been exhausted.
However, they will never be the sole, or even the primary, option. The default first options should almost always be securing the sustainment of the tenancy with the landlord, securing alternative accommodation through the Tenancy Sustainment and Placefinder services, or allocating a local authority or Approved Housing Body tenancy via a new build home or re-let.
When no other option is available, local authorities have delegated sanction to pursue individual priority acquisitions without recourse to my Department, subject to the broad parameters and criteria of the Social Housing Second Hand Acquisitions Programme.
In this context, it is solely a matter for each local authority to determine whether an acquisition is the appropriate policy response in a given situation. Accordingly, and given they are best placed to determine the most appropriate response in any case, it is solely a matter for each local authority or number of local authorities to decide whether they engage, or otherwise, in inter-authority arrangements related to any second hand acquisition.
