Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 September 2009
980 Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the timeline for delivery and implementation of The Way Home homelessness strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30381/09]
View answerThe core objective of the Government's Strategy on adult homelessness The Way Home is to eliminate, by end 2010, long-term (i.e greater than 6 months) occupation of emergency accommodation and the need to sleep rough. The National Implementation Plan for the Homeless Strategy was launched on 21 April 2009 and is available on my Department's web site at www.environ.ie. It provides a robust framework to guide the action required at national level to promote and support effective implementation locally. The Plan sets out a sequence of strategic aims, key approaches, priority actions and constituent/supporting measures necessary for implementation of the overall Homeless Strategy and includes timelines for delivery.
981 Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the amount of funding that has been allocated to provide for day-to-day accommodation of homeless services for each year since 2000; the amount that will be allocated to this for the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30382/09]
View answerAs the Deputy's question relates to a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.
982 Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the steps he has taken to develop a case management approach to address the needs of homeless people as outlined in the The Way Home report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30384/09]
View answerA progress report on the implementation of the Care and Case Management approach in Dublin has recently been completed. This report outlines a series of measures that are being undertaken to promote a case management approach in Dublin homeless services. These measures include holistic needs assessment, interagency protocols, training and a case management guidebook.
My Department is currently assessing the progress being made in Dublin regarding the case management approach, and this will also be considered by the Cross Departmental Team on Homelessness in the context of assessing the feasibility of its wider application for the purposes of addressing the needs of homeless persons.
983 Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the steps he has taken to develop preventative strategies focused on groups at increased risk of becoming homeless including individuals leaving prisons, acute hospitals and psychiatric hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30385/09]
View answer984 Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the steps he has taken to ensure that closer links have been developed between youth homeless fora and adult homeless fora in each area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30388/09]
View answer987 Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government when he will arrange for the development of national guidance on delivery of education, training and work opportunities for people who are homeless; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30392/09]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 983, 984 and 987 together.
The Government's Homeless Strategy, The Way Home, published in August 2008 sets out a comprehensive framework within which the complex range of issues involved in meeting the Government's objectives in relation to homelessness can be addressed. The strategy was developed under the aegis of a Cross Departmental Team, which provides a forum for addressing cross-cutting issues, particularly in terms of preventing homelessness.
The National Implementation Plan for the new strategy, published in April 2009, sets out priority actions with constituent supporting measures and identifies the agencies/bodies with the lead role in individual areas. The issues raised are all matters for which lead responsibility, under the Implementation Plan, has been assigned to Departments and Agencies other than my Department. Specifically, the Implementation Plan indicates that lead responsibility for issues in relation to discharge planning from health services and prisons are the responsibility of the HSE and the Irish Prison Service, respectively. In relation to the development of national guidance on delivery of education, training and work opportunities for people who are homeless, this has been identified as a priority action for the Department of Education and Science and FÁS.
The Implementation Plan also identifies as a key action, under its Preventative chapter, the necessity to examine issues relating to youth homelessness as a route to adult homelessness. This examination will also consider the issue of interaction between youth homeless fora and the adult homeless consultative fora.
985 Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the way he has worked with the national office of prevention of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence to bring forward research on domestic violence related homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30390/09]
View answerThrough a range of interdepartmental structures and arrangements, my Department is working with Cosc, the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, to support that Office's work to develop a national strategy on the issues within its remit. Issues in relation to domestic violence-related homelessness, including the carrying out of further research, will be considered in the context of this engagement with Cosc.
986 Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of homeless households settled successfully out of homelessness for each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30391/09]
View answerLocal authorities are responsible for meeting the accommodation needs of households assessed as having a housing need, including homeless persons. As a detailed breakdown of the categories of households whose needs are met each year is not held in my Department, definitive details of all successful settlements of homeless persons in the period in question are not available. Information regarding the number of homeless households that have been housed may be obtained from the responsible local authorities.
