1819. Deputy Máire Devine asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware of the growing number of older persons who are experiencing significant anxiety and uncertainty regarding housing following marital separation or divorce (details supplied); the supports and options available to individuals in these circumstances; if persons in this position are eligible to apply for social housing or be placed on the housing list; the criteria applied in assessing such applications; and if there are specific schemes, supports, or interim measures available to assist older individuals who find themselves unable to secure housing following a divorce. [27031/26]

Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, as amended, and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011.

A household shall be ineligible for social housing support if that household has alternative accommodation it could reasonably be expected to use to meet its housing need. However, where an applicant for social housing support owns accommodation occupied by a spouse, from whom they are formally separated or divorced, a deed of separation is sufficient to set aside this ineligibility ground. It is not necessary to await judicial separation or divorce to get a decision on social housing support in these cases.

Local authorities may provide such households with social housing support under the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) or the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme until ownership of the family home is resolved in a formal separation or divorce settlement.

Support in these circumstances will be reviewed by the local authority at prescribed intervals and the household will not be able to transfer to other forms of social housing support while ownership of the family home remains to be determined. However, where the household ultimately qualifies for the full range of social housing supports, the length of time the household was supported under RAS or HAP will be reckonable for the purposes of determining the household’s relative priority for a transfer to local authority social housing.