Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 April 2016
129. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown of funding allocated to Louth and Meath County Councils for provision of emergency accommodation for the years 2010 to 2016, in tabular form; the details of the portion of allocated funds that were drawn down; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7896/16]
View answerMy Department does not fund any homeless 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. Under Section 10 funding arrangements, housing authorities must provide at least 10% of the cost of such services from their own resources. Furthermore, housing authorities may also incur additional expenditure on homeless related services outside of the Section 10 funding arrangements. Therefore, the exact amounts spent by housing authorities on homeless services are a matter for those authorities.
Exchequer funding is provided through my Department to housing authorities on a regional basis; Louth County Council is included in the North-East Region along with Cavan and Monaghan while Meath County Council is included in the Mid-East Region along with Kildare and Wicklow. An annual breakdown of total Exchequer funding recouped to both these regions, in respect of all homeless related expenditure, for the years 2010 to 2015 is set out in the table.
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Exchequer Funding Provided under Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988 |
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|
|
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Mid-East |
€906,842 |
€697,665 |
€839,146 |
€811,275 |
€928,489 |
€1,716,245 |
|
North-East |
€1,037,617 |
€912,250 |
€910,194 |
€879,963 |
€879,963 |
€996,849 |
While the 2016 allocations are currently being finalised, the funding needs of the various regions are kept under review on an on-going basis, taking account of known and emerging costs of services, and my Department has provided reassurance to all housing authorities in this regard.
