Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 June 2016
52. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of persons he expects to be accessing emergency homeless accommodation at the end of 2016; which of the recommendations of the Oireachtas Committee on Housing and Homelessness he plans to implement first; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18295/16]
View answerThe Programme for a Partnership Government includes a commitment to the preparation and publication of an ‘Action Plan for Housing’ within the first 100 days of Government. The Action plan will draw on the Report of the Special Committee on Housing and Homelessness, which was published on 17 June.
The Action Plan aims to address the challenges in the housing sector in a targeted and meaningful way, building on the considerable work already carried out or underway, including actions to expedite and boost supply of all types of housing, including social housing, in the immediate, medium and longer-terms, focusing in particular on those facing most difficulty in accessing the housing and rental market. There will also be a focus on tackling, more quickly, the issue of those living in emergency accommodation by expanding and expediting solutions.
Importantly, the Action Plan will also set out measures to prevent homelessness and keep people in their own homes as far as possible, thereby making an important contribution to addressing the current homelessness issue.
A homelessness report is published on my Department’s website on a monthly basis providing details of individuals utilising State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements that are overseen by housing authorities. While it is not possible to forecast the number of persons who will be accessing homeless emergency accommodation at the end of 2016, the most recent report confirms that 3,993 adult individuals used State-funded emergency accommodation nationally during a week in May 2016, a slight decrease on the 4,068 recorded in respect of the previous month. These monthly reports are available on my Department’s website at the following link:
http://www.environ.ie/housing/homelessness/other/homelessness-data
