Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 November 2012
163. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide the most up to date homelessness figures for Counties Limerick, Cork and Kerry, for the period of October 2011-October 2012, in tabular form highlighting the number of persons that had actually presented homeless or were deemed to be homeless during that period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51763/12]
View answerThere is considerable difficulty in quantifying the numbers of persons homeless at any given time and this is in part a consequence of the volatility within this cohort of housing need.
A statutory assessment of housing need is carried out every three years by all housing authorities. The Housing Agency’s Housing Needs Assessment 2011 report breaks down the categories of housing need, including in respect of homelessness, for all 88 housing authorities nationwide. This report is available on my Department’s website at www.environ.ie. However, the Housing Needs Assessment only counts homeless persons where an application has been made to a housing authority.
The Pathway Accommodation & Support System (PASS) which commenced operation in Dublin in 2011 is being extended nationally on a phased basis with work currently underway in other regions. The PASS system will in future provide good quality, timely, data on homelessness nationally as an evidence base for all homelessness services.
