Vol. 415 No. 4
60 Mr. Kavanagh asked the Minister for the Environment if he will outline the mechanism employed in his Department to assess the level of homelessness; if this assessment is ongoing; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
An assessment of the scale of homelessness as at 31 March 1991 was carried out by housing authorities in conjunction with their assessment of needs for local authority housing. The authorities were requested, when carrying out the assessment of homelessness, to have regard to the appropriate provisions of the guidelines issued by my Department in regard to the accommodation needs of homeless persons. In particular, authorities were instructed to consult and liaise with health boards and voluntary bodies working on behalf of the homeless in their areas and to give timely notice to these bodies that the assessment was being carried out.
The results of the two assessments, derived from returns furnished by housing authorities, have been published in the housing statistics bulletin for September 1991, copies of which have been placed in the Oireachtas Library.
