Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 December 2019
463. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of persons in emergency homeless accommodation by local authority area and length of time in such accommodation; the number of children and adults in each case; the number at the same period in 2017 and 2018; the cost of providing such accommodation over each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53574/19]
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 homelessness figures show that 6,688 adults and 3,826 associated dependents, encompassing 1,733 families, accessed emergency accommodation nationwide during the final week of October. Monthly reports for 2017, 2018 and 2019 are available on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/homelessness/other/homelessness-data .
The monthly reports submitted by local authorities to my Department do not currently provide detailed information on the length of time spent in emergency accommodation. However, the latest information drawn from a separate local authority performance reporting mechanism show that 38% of adults in emergency accommodation had been there for less than six months, and 62% for more than 6 months.
The regional breakdown at the end of Quarter 3 2019 is shown in the following table.
Q3 2019 Duration in Emergency Accommodation - Regional Breakdown
|
|
< 6 months |
|
> 6 Months |
|
Regional Total |
|
|
Amount |
% |
Amount |
% |
|
|
Dublin |
1,408 |
33% |
2,893 |
67% |
4,301 |
|
Mid-East |
170 |
55% |
137 |
45% |
307 |
|
Midland |
19 |
21% |
73 |
79% |
92 |
|
Mid West |
166 |
55% |
137 |
45% |
303 |
|
North East |
90 |
57% |
69 |
43% |
159 |
|
North West |
37 |
71% |
15 |
29% |
52 |
|
South East |
135 |
55% |
110 |
45% |
245 |
|
South West |
270 |
48% |
296 |
52% |
566 |
|
West |
159 |
37% |
269 |
63% |
428 |
|
Totals |
2,454 |
38% |
3,999 |
62% |
6,453 |
In relation to the cost of providing accommodation, my Department does not fund any homeless service directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards these costs. Under the funding arrangements, housing authorities must provide at least 10% of the cost of services from their own resources. Housing authorities may also incur additional expenditure on homeless related services outside of these funding arrangements with my Department. Therefore, the exact amounts spent by housing authorities on homeless services, as well as the types of accommodation are a matter for individual housing authorities in consultation with the Management Group of the relevant regional joint Homelessness Consultative Forum.
Exchequer funding for homeless services is provided by my Department to housing authorities on a regional basis. The following table sets out Exchequer funding provided on a regional basis for the years 2017 and 2018 and to date in 2019.
Exchequer funding for homeless services under the Housing Act, 1988
|
Region |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 to date |
|
Dublin |
€83,616,643 |
€106,267,187 |
€112,662,125 |
|
Mid-East |
€3,092,923 |
€3,738,000 |
€3,725,000 |
|
Midland |
€1,467,615 |
€2,177,128 |
€2,014,500 |
|
Mid-West |
€3,906,686 |
€5,044,000 |
€6,559,100 |
|
North-East |
€2,762,845 |
€3,007,520 |
€2,685,000 |
|
North-West |
€450,000 |
€541,522 |
€622,700 |
|
South-East |
€3,444,510 |
€3,815,000 |
€3,950,200 |
|
South-West |
€6,703,444 |
€9,687,741 |
€8,048,100 |
|
West |
€3,791,334 |
€4,721,895 |
€5,546,200 |
|
Total |
€109,236,000 |
€138,999,993 |
€145,812,925 |
