Homeless Accommodation Funding

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 January 2014

Thursday, 16 January 2014

Questions (210)

Terence Flanagan

Question:

210. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to provide details on the organisations being funded by his Department to deal with homelessness in Dublin city and county; the amounts paid to each organisation over the past five years; the salary each chief executive of those organisations funded by the taxpayer received; if he will provide a breakdown between salary and other costs; the role his Department plays in the governance of these organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2006/14]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government

The regulation of charities is a matter for the Department of Justice and Equality and my Department has no function in that regard or in regard to the terms and conditions of individual staff members.

With regard to homelessness services, my Department does not fund any service directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards the operational costs of homeless accommodation and related services under Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988. Housing authorities will also provide funding from their own resources. The purposes for which housing authorities may incur expenditure in addressing homelessness are prescribed in Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988.

The Section 10 funding provided by my Department to the housing authorities in the Dublin Region for the years 2009 to 2013 is set out in the following table.

Funding Provided under Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988

2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
€38,967,542	€40,521,375	€35,732,525	€32,398,290	€31,322,223

The bulk of this funding goes towards the costs incurred in the provision of homeless services by voluntary sector service providers such as Focus Ireland, Crosscare, Dublin Simon Community, Peter McVerry Trust, DePaul Trust, Salvation Army, etc. Service level agreements are in place between the housing authority and service provider for any homeless service funded by the Dublin local authorities.