Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 November 2019
37. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of adults and children registered as homeless in each of the years 2016 to 2018 and to date in 2019, by local authority area in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45233/19]
View answerMy Department publishes a monthly report on homelessness. The monthly report is based on data provided by housing authorities on a regional basis and produced through the Pathway Accommodation & Support System. The report captures details of individuals utilising State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements that are overseen by housing authorities. The most recent report is for September 2019, which showed that there were 6,524 adults and 3,873 dependants in emergency accommodation in that month. Monthly reports for 2016, 2017, 2018 and to date in 2019 are available on my Department’s website.
Supporting families experiencing homelessness is a priority for this Government. Budget 2020 has increased funding available to local authorities to provide homeless accommodation and related services to €166m, an increase of €20m on this year’s budget. While the priority is to support families to secure a home, the Government is also committed to ensuring that appropriate emergency accommodation is available until a home can be provided. In this regard, the Government is providing funding to local authorities to develop and operate family hubs. To date, 29 family hubs have been developed nationally, providing almost 680 units of family accommodation.
Rebuilding Ireland is delivering significant results in supporting exits from homelessness. In 2018, 5,135 adults exited homelessness into homes, an 8.6% increase on 2017. In the first six months of 2019, 2,825 adults and their associated dependents exited homelessness into homes nationally. This is a 21% increase on the numbers recorded at the same point in 2018. In the Dublin region, data provided by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive shows that 786 families have exited from emergency accommodation into homes over the first nine months of this year. This is a 48% increase on the exits achieved over the same period last year. Family presentations in the Dublin region have also fallen by 9.5% in the first nine months of the year, compared to 2018, with 48% of the families presenting to homeless services prevented from having to enter emergency accommodation.
