Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 26 Jan 2000

Vol. 513 No. 1

Written Answers. - Homelessness Persons.

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

96 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the call made by Focus Ireland for annual expenditure of £39 million over the next five years to deal with the problem of homelessness; the plans, if any, he has to respond to this call; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1573/00]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government (Mr. Molloy):

I am aware of the call reported in the media which was made by Focus Ireland for annual expenditure of £39 million over the next five years to deal with the problem of homelessness.

The need for a comprehensive response to homelessness was acknowledged in the establish ment of the cross-department team on homelessness under the aegis of my Department whose remit includes health, education, employment as well as accommodation. The team is well advanced in the preparation of its report and it is expected that they will present their report in the near future with firm recommendations on how the problem of homelessness is to be tackled.

It is well recognised that homelessness can be a complex social problem and addiction can sometimes play a large part in people becoming homeless. In such cases, the provision of accommodation will not, on its own, suffice and accompanying support services will also be required. For this reason, a special £5 million allocation over the two years 2000 and 2001 was made in the recent budget for the provision of two high support hostels for homeless people suffering from drug and alcohol addiction and is being made available to Dublin Corporation to build or acquire and redevelop suitable premises for these purposes. This allocation will supplement the £4 million allocation in the public capital programme for the provision by local authorities of hostel accommodation this year.

In addition, it is open to voluntary bodies to avail of funding under my Department's voluntary housing capital assistance and rental subsidy schemes to provide hostel and sheltered housing accommodation for homeless persons. My Department encourages voluntary bodies to avail of these schemes for the provision of voluntary housing accommodation and the financial provision for these schemes has been increased from £45 million in 1999 to £68 million for the present year. The upper unit cost limits under these schemes have also been significantly increased.

The local authority housing programme also provides housing accommodation for homeless persons. The programme is being expanded to provide 22,000 additional units during the period 2000-2003 at an estimated cost of £1,585 million.