Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 November 2021
49. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will report on his plans to tackle the increase in demand on homeless services due to evictions from private rentals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54568/21]
View answer88. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the action he plans to take to address the alarming increase in homelessness as reported by his Department’s monthly reports. [55105/21]
View answer92. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the immediate and urgent actions that will be taken to reverse the month-on-month increases in homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54971/21]
View answer102. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of his work to tackle homelessness in Dublin. [55164/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 49, 88, 92 and 102 together.
Supporting individuals and families facing homelessness is a key Government priority. ‘Housing for All - a New Housing Plan for Ireland’, the Government’s strategic housing plan to 2030, sets an ambitious overarching objective of working to eradicate homelessness by 2030 and outlines details on how the Government is approaching this challenge.
Through Housing for All, the Government is committed to taking action to prevent entries into homelessness in the first instance and to help those experiencing homelessness to exit into secure and sustained tenancies. It also includes measures targeted specifically at those experiencing homelessness with complex needs. It commits to the continued expansion of the Housing First programme, and, importantly, ensuring that health and mental health supports are provided for homeless persons.
Housing for All includes 18 distinct actions tailored to eliminate homelessness. €4 billion in capital funding is being invested annually on social and affordable housing. This is the biggest such programme in the history of the State. There will be an increase in supply across all tenure types, with over 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable homes and 18,000 cost rental homes to be delivered by 2030.
The most recently published data on homelessness, for September 2021, showed that there were 8,475 individuals comprising 6,131 adults, 1,005 families and 2,344 child dependants in emergency accommodation. There was an increase of 263 individuals overall on the total for August 2021. The year on year position is that September 2021 showed a decrease of 181 individuals, or 2.1%, on the 8,656 total recorded in September 2020. Since its highest level in October 2019 the numbers of individuals in emergency accommodation has decreased by 2,039, or 19%, from 10,514.
The increase in homelessness seen in recent months is a serious concern for Government. While we have made significant improvements on the situation we were facing two years ago when homelessness was at its highest, there is still a lot of work to be done.
Recognising some weeks ago that there were increased numbers of households presenting to homeless services, I convened meetings with senior officials from the local authorities where homelessness is most prevalent. The meetings took place on the 7th October last and were attended by officials from Dublin City Council, South Dublin, Fingal, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Meath, Kildare, Cork City, Limerick City and County, Galway City and Waterford City and County Councils. I convened these meetings to discuss solutions, and to prioritise measures around homelessness preventions and exits.
I also convened a meeting of the Task Force on Homelessness in recent weeks. This Group’s members comprise the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, the Peter McVerry Trust, Dublin Simon Community, Focus Ireland, Threshold, DePaul, Crosscare and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul as well as senior officials from my Department. The significant focus was on the common effort needed to prevent homelessness wherever possible, and to exit those in emergency accommodation into homes.
The challenges in addressing homelessness are complex and require meaningful cross-departmental and interagency engagement. To this end. I intend to establish a National Homeless Action Committee that will bring together all key State Departments, agencies and authorities. The role of the Committee will be to drive delivery of interagency actions in Housing for All and to work together in a collaborative manner in bringing forward solutions to address homelessness.
