This report presents a review of the role of social workers and other personnel employed by local authorities specifically to assist Travellers with their accommodation needs.
It was commissioned by The Housing Agency on behalf of the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
This publication was written by Michelle Norris, Angela Palmer, Joanne Kelleher and Jim Campbell, School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, University College Dublin.
Since the mid-1960s, local authorities have employed social workers to support Travellers in meeting their accommodation needs. Since then, the nature and scale of the demands on local authority housing departments have changed and local authorities have taken on new housing responsibilities.
This report found continuing levels of accommodation need among this community and makes a number of recommendations to improve the effectiveness of this service in the context of the wider local authority housing service. This includes the implementation of the recommendations of the Traveller Accommodation Expert Review 2019.
The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Housing Agency, the Minister of State or the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Produced by The Housing Agency using local authority data, the annual Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA) brings together information provided by local authorities on households that are qualified for social housing support but whose social housing need is not currently being met. It is a point-in-time assessment of the identified need for social housing support across the country.
The SSHA 2020 report can be read here.
Among the key findings of SSHA 2020 are:
- The number of households with an unmet social housing need fell by 10% in 2020, to 61,880.
- 25 of 31 local authorities recorded fewer households on their lists than in 2019. An additional 354 households were identified across the six local authorities where the number with an unmet need for social housing had increased.
- More than four-in-ten households with an unmet social housing need live in the four Dublin local authorities.
- The majority of unmet need is in small households: single adult households account for over half of those with an unmet need for social housing (52%), while nearly a quarter are lone parent households (24%).
- The number of households waiting longer is falling; the share of households waiting for more than four years fell by almost four percentage points (from 48.7% to 44.8%). Conversely, the share of households waiting for fewer than two years increased by 1.6 percentage points (from 33.8% to 35.4%).
This report features case studies from Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark into innovations in design and construction of social, affordable and co-operative housing in Europe.
The report Thinking Ahead: The Financial Benefits of Investing in Supported Housing for Older People was conducted as part of a range of recommended actions under the policy statement ‘Housing Options for Our Ageing Population’, published by the Government in March 2019.
Carried out by The Housing Agency, this research found that, by supporting people to live in homes suited to their needs, an average annual Government saving of €4,650 per person can be made, compared to that individual remaining in their current home or moving into long term residential care.
The figures are based on the provision of Supported Housing for 11,400 people over the next 10 years, a number derived from expected projections in Ireland’s population aged over 80.
Attitudinal Survey of Mature Homeowners
On 29 October 2020 the Minister for State with responsibility for Local Government and Planning, Peter Burke TD, launched both the above report, and the Attitudinal Survey of Mature Homeowners, which was conducted by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service.
You can read the Attitudinal Survey of Mature Homeowners here.
Housing Agency National Study of Irish Housing Experiences, Attitudes and Aspirations in Ireland - Apartment Living in Ireland 2019. This study set out to find out how satisfied people living in apartments were with their homes.
The information in this research study was collected by: face-to-face Interviews with more than 500 people living in apartments, two focus groups with families with young children living in apartments and two focus groups with older renters, a literature review and a summary of recent policy changes, legislation and guidelines that impact on the development of apartment living.
The report is available here.
The Mortgage to Rent Scheme is a Government initiative that was set up in 2012 to help people who are finding it extremely difficult to meet mortgage repayments every month to stay in their home.
Under the Mortgage to Rent Scheme, a person will voluntarily surrender ownership of their home to their lender. A third party will then buy the home from the lender. The person will no longer own their home but they will continue to live in it as a tenant, while paying an income--related rent set by their local authority.
This Guide outlines the benefits of the Mortgage to Rent scheme, criteria for qualification, and terms and conditions that apply.
Each year, the Housing Agency carries out an assessment of households qualified for social housing support. The Summary of Social Housing Assessments brings together information provided by local authorities on households that are qualified for social housing support but whose social housing need is not currently being met. It is a point-in-time assessment of the identified need for social housing support across the country.
The Traveller Accommodation Expert Group was established in 2018, by Minister Damien English, to review the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998 and other legislation impacting on the provision and delivery of accommodation for Travellers. The aims of the Expert Group were to review the effectiveness of the 1998 Act and whether it provides a robust legislative basis for meeting the current and future accommodation needs of the Traveller Community, and to review other legislation that impacts on the delivery of Traveller-specific accommodation. In July 2019 the "Traveller Accommodation Expert Review" was published on behalf of the Minister of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.
This report sets out an integrated set of recommendations intended to improve the effectiveness of the arrangements for providing accommodation for members of the Traveller community, which were established by the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998. These recommendations address four key themes:
- delivery reflecting need
- planning
- capacity and resources
- governance
The Expert Report can be downloaded for review on by following this link.