Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 2 Feb 1995

Vol. 448 No. 5

Written Answers. - Plans to Deal with Homelessness.

Eric J. Byrne

Question:

33 Mr. E. Byrne asked the Minister for the Environment the total number of hostel or emergency places available for the homeless; the additional steps, if any, he plans to take to deal with the problem of homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2195/95]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment (Ms McManus)

Information on the number of hostel places available to accommodate homeless people throughout the country on an emergency or long term basis is not available in my Department. It is proposed to carry out a survey during 1995 of such accommodation.

A number of measures have been taken in the past few years to improve the situation in regard to the accommodation of homeless people: the expanded local authority housing programme benefits the homeless as well as other categories of people in need of housing; the increased capital funding available for voluntary bodies providing housing accommodation, a large part of which is expended on the provision of hostel and other accommodation for homeless people; the increased level of recoupment by my Department to local authorities in respect of expenditure incurred by them in relation to the accommodation of homeless people; the introduction of the after-hours referral service in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow for homeless people seeking accommodation.

The Estimates for 1995, published last week, provide additional funds for a further expansion of the local authority housing construction programme and the voluntary housing schemes and for the recoupment to local authorities of expenditure under section 10 of the Housing Act, 1988. I will be assessing the position on homelessness over the coming months before coming to any conclusions on the additional steps that may be needed.