Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 December 2021
93. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if persons living in charity-run homeless hostels are counted as homeless in his Department’s figures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62208/21]
View answerMy Department publishes data on a monthly basis on the number of homeless persons accommodated in all forms of emergency accommodation funded and overseen by housing authorities. These reports are based on data provided by housing authorities and are produced through the Pathway Accommodation & Support System (PASS), the single integrated national data information system on State-funded emergency accommodation arrangements overseen by housing authorities. Additionally, biannual rough sleeper counts are in operation in regions of the country where rough sleeping is a known issue. These counts ensure that homeless individuals not engaging with local authorities are also enumerated by my Department, though these counts often include individuals who are also accessing emergency accommodation. Data from these rough sleeper counts are included within regional lead authority performance reports. All reports are available on my Department's website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/80ea8-homelessness-data/ and are also published to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's open data portal, data.gov.ie/
The monthly reports outline the number of individuals accommodated in emergency accommodation over a designated survey week, including a breakdown by local authority. Emergency accommodation in these reports is categorised by Supported Temporary Accommodation (including family hubs and hostels, with onsite professional support), Private Emergency Accommodation (this may include hotels, B&Bs and other residential facilities that are used on an emergency basis, where supports are provided to services users on a visiting supports basis), and Temporary Emergency Accommodation (emergency accommodation with no, or minimal, support).
Whenever an individual or family presents to a local authority as homeless, prevention is always the priority. In instances where a prevention is not possible, emergency accommodation is provided as a temporary measure to ensure individuals have a safe place of shelter while local authorities work on exiting them from homelessness. In a limited number of cases, it is acknowledged individuals may not be able to live independently and may present with complex and multiple health and social support needs. Long Term Supported Accommodation is the provision of quality accommodation and effective supports on a long-term basis for persons who have sought assistance from homeless services and who have specialised health, care and social support needs. As Long Term Supported Accommodation is regarded as neither temporary nor emergency and is more typically own-door, it is not enumerated within the monthly homeless statistics on emergency accommodation access.
In some instances, both Long Term Supported Accommodation and Supported Temporary Accommodation are offered by service providers within the same venue. In these cases, individuals accessing Supported Temporary Accommodation are included within my Department’s monthly homeless statistics.
