The Coalition is to make a renewed effort to bring forward legislation on housing supports for foreign nationals.
The moves, which were first reported by the Sunday Times over the weekend, revisit attempts by the previous government which were not enacted before the election.
The changes also seek to put the system for determining eligibility for social housing and emergency accommodation by foreign nationals on a statutory footing.
Campaigners and the Opposition dismissed the mooted changes, indicating there will be strong resistance to them politically and from civil society.
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Government sources argued that, as social housing is a “long-term” support, the legislation will propose that households seeking housing support would have to be legally and habitually resident in the State.
The legislation, which is expected to go to Cabinet in the coming weeks, will also exclude those in receipt of temporary protection – the status afforded to those fleeing the Ukraine war – as being “habitually resident”, and “clarify” that where an EU citizen is not eligible for social housing supports, the local authority is not required to provide homeless services.
It will introduce an appeals mechanism and exempt children from residency requirements, said a housing source.
A housing source said that the Government was putting on a statutory footing what has been to date an administrative policy since 2011. “It is intended that this will bring clarity and much-needed consistency regarding the entitlement to housing supports.”
Campaigners said the legislation is an attempt to solve a problem “that does not exist”.
Focus Ireland director of advocacy and research Mike Allen said previous legislative forays into this area had been “exposed as a poorly drafted response to a problem that does not exist”.
“Nobody believed that social housing should be allocated to people with no right to live in Ireland, but the Government was unable to give any evidence that it was happening and needed complex legislation to stop it,” he said.
Citing plans due to go to Cabinet, Sunday’s report suggested Ministers would be told the law is needed to eliminate ambiguity over existing rules for foreign nationals who want to apply for social housing.
It said similar rules were planned for accessing emergency accommodation, with local authorities not required to assess households unless they are legally and habitually resident in the State.
Mr Allen said the proposals to restrict the capacity of local authorities to provide emergency shelter on a short-term humanitarian basis would result in more people being forced to sleep on the streets.
He said there will be “inevitable consequences” for people’s health and public areas if such a condition were imposed.
The Opposition also criticised the proposals, with Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin calling it a “deeply disingenuous and dangerous briefing”. He said it sought to shift blame for the housing and homelessness crises on to migrant communities.
The Dublin Mid-West TD said residency rules are already applied to social housing applications and when accessing emergency accommodation. He said his understanding was that the mooted Bill intends to put existing practice into primary legislation.
He accused Minister for Housing James Browne of “wasting his officials’ time drafting a Bill that is not needed”.
In a reply to a recent parliamentary question put down by Mr Ó Broin, Mr Browne outlined the conditions applied by local authorities when determining a “local connection” as part of a social housing application.
These include having lived in the area for five years at any time, being employed in the area or within 15km of it, being in full-time education or receiving specialist medical care there, or having a relative living in the area for two years or longer.
