Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 July 2019
2944. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of persons classed as homeless; the steps being taken to ensure such persons are suitably housed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33816/19]
View answerMy Department publishes a monthly report on homelessness. The monthly report is based on data provided by housing authorities and produced through the Pathway Accommodation & Support System (PASS). The report captures details of individuals utilising State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements that are overseen by housing authorities. The most recent report is for May 2019 and showed that there were 6,504 adults and 3,749 associated dependents in emergency accommodation in that month. The May 2019 monthly report is available on my Department’s website at the following link: https://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/homelessness/other/homelessness-data
Addressing homelessness is a priority for the Government. In 2016, the Government published the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness. Rebuilding Ireland is designed to significantly increase the supply of social housing by 50,000 homes in the period to 2021, double the output of overall housing to at least 25,000 homes per annum by 2020, support all tenure types (social, private and rental), and tackle homelessness comprehensively. The Plan is underpinned by over €6 billion in funding. By the end of Quarter 1 2019, 78,000 households had been supported under Rebuilding Ireland and this figure is expected to reach 100,000 by the end of 2019.
The Government has increased the budget available to local authorities to deliver homeless services to €146m in 2019, an increase of over 25% on the 2018 allocation. Local authorities and their service delivery partners work with households experiencing homelessness to identify and secure exits from emergency accommodation to independent tenancies, within the shortest possible timeframe. Rebuilding Ireland is delivering very significant results in supporting exits from homelessness. In 2018, 5,135 adults exited homelessness into independent tenancies, an 8.6% increase on 2017. Securing housing solutions for all households experiencing homelessness will continue to be a priority for my Department.
