Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 October 2021
175. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount spent on emergency accommodation in each of the years 2015 to 2020; and the criteria for qualification as emergency accommodation for the purposes of this spending. [49325/21]
View answerMy Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and associated services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities. The purposes for which housing authorities may incur expenditure in addressing homelessness are prescribed in Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988.
While responsibility for the provision of homeless accommodation services rests with individual housing authorities, the administration of homeless services is organised on a regional basis. A homelessness consultative forum has been established in each region in accordance with Chapter 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2009. Decisions on the range of emergency accommodation and funding required in each region are a matter for individual housing authorities in consultation with the Management Group of the relevant regional joint Homelessness Consultative Forum.
My Department does not fund homeless services directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards these costs. Under these 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 spend by housing authorities on homeless services is a matter for individual housing authorities.
Exchequer funding is provided by my Department on a regional basis. The table below sets out the funding recouped from 2015 to 2020, including funding recouped towards expenditure incurred in implementing exceptional Covid-19 measures in 2020.
|
Region |
2015 €m |
2016 €m |
2017 €m |
2018 €m |
2019 €m |
2020 €m |
|
Dublin |
48.2 |
68.6 |
83.6 |
106.2 |
120.7 |
217.6 |
|
Mid East |
1.7 |
2.7 |
3.1 |
3.8 |
5.5 |
8.5 |
|
Midlands |
0.8 |
1.1 |
1.5 |
2.2 |
2.8 |
2.5 |
|
Mid West |
3.5 |
3.5 |
3.9 |
5.0 |
7.6 |
9.2 |
|
North East |
1.0 |
1.5 |
2.7 |
3.0 |
3.7 |
2.9 |
|
North West |
0.4 |
0.4 |
0.45 |
0.5 |
0.67 |
0.8 |
|
South East |
2.4 |
3.0 |
3.4 |
3.8 |
4.5 |
3.9 |
|
South West |
5.0 |
5.4 |
6.7 |
9.7 |
12.0 |
16.2 |
|
West |
1.7 |
2.4 |
3.8 |
4.7 |
7.4 |
9.2 |
|
Totals |
€64.7m |
€88.6m |
€109.2m |
€138.9m |
€164.9m |
€270.8m |
Financial reports from each of the homeless regions, setting out expenditure on homeless services are published on my Department's website at the following link:
www.gov.ie/en/collection/80ea8-homelessness-data/#local-authority-regional-financial-reports
