Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 25 May 2000

Vol. 519 No. 7

Written Answers. - Homeless Persons.

Ivor Callely

Question:

94 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the number of people homeless in the Dublin region; the type of accommodation available to homeless people; the number of additional places required for homeless people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14597/00]

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

Statistics for the number of homeless persons and homeless households in each of the four Dublin local authorities, as published in the assessment of housing needs which was compiled in March 1999 are set out in the table below.

Local Authority Area	Total No. of homeless persons
Dublin Corporation	3,640
South Dublin	167
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown	85
Fingal	26

Hostel accommodation is the main source of accommodation for homeless persons. The description "hostel accommodation" is a broad one and includes long-term, transitional or medium-term accommodation where people can stay for varying periods and over-night accommodation vacated every day although in some cases the same persons might come back nightly.

It is estimated that there are approximately 900 bed places available for homeless people in hostels in the Dublin city area and they are usually all occupied. In addition to the availability of hostel accommodation, bed and breakfast accommodation is also used to accommodate homeless people, where necessary.

The Government's recently published integrated strategy on homelessness has identified the need for a range of additional accommodation to be provided for homeless people. This would include emergency hostel accommodation, special high support hostel accommodation for persons with substance addictions, long-term sheltered accommodation for the long-term homeless and transitional accommodation for homeless people who are capable of moving towards independent living.

Local authorities will continue to use the special £4 million capital allocation available annually from my Department to fund the purchase of suitable premises for use as move-on accommodation, whether medium-term or long-term, for homeless people who are long-term residents in hostels. An additional £20 million in capital funding will be provided over a five year period for the provision of additional sheltered accommodation to cater for the permanent accommodation needs of long-term homeless persons who are able to live semi-independently and local authorities will be encouraged to undertake the development of this additional accommodation as quickly as possible. In addition, the Government has also provided capital funding for the provision of two high support hostels for homeless persons in Dublin with drug or alcohol addictions. Voluntary bodies providing services for the homeless will continue to have access to capital funding under my Department's capital assistance scheme to provide suitable accommodation for homeless persons.