Vol. 407 No. 1
233 Mr. Byrne asked the Minister for the Environment if he will agree to the request by Dublin Simon Community (details supplied) to review the requirements to complete the assessments of homelessness by 31 March 1991; and the procedures which will be in place by that date to start a thorough and effective assessment over a suitable timespan.
As indicated in "A Plan for Social Housing', local authorities were requested to assess the scale of homelessness in their areas at 31 March 1991 in order to plan effectively to meet those needs. Local authorities were advised that the assessment was to include all homeless persons, whether seeking local authority housing or not, and was to be carried out in conjunction with the second assessment of local authority housing needs under section 9 of the Housing Act, 1988, and in consultation with health boards and voluntary organisations working with the homeless. Having regard to the local authorities' responsibilities which relate to the accommodation of homeless persons, I consider that the assessment which these authorities were asked to undertake is appropriate and adequate.
