Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
588. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 116 of 18 May 2023, his views on the subgroups established under NHAC, with specific reference to examining issues pertaining to homelessness prevention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36091/23]
View answer589. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 116 of 18 May 2023, if he will outline the measures that have been introduced to prevent homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36092/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 588 and 589 together.
Increasing housing supply across all tenures is the key to preventing homelessness. My Department continues to prioritise measures which focus on accelerating social and affordable housing supply through a combination of new build, targeted acquisitions and leasing.
Record state investment of €4.5bn is being made available this year to support the largest State home building programme ever, including 9,100 direct build social homes and 5,500 affordable homes.
There will be increased provision for social housing acquisitions for local authorities to acquire at least 1,500 social homes. This is focused on properties where a tenant in receipt of social housing supports and has received a Notice of Termination due to the landlord’s intention to sell the property. Initial feedback from local authorities indicates that the target of 1,500 will be surpassed. For households who are ineligible for social housing, I have introduced the Cost Rental Tenant In-Situ Scheme.
The Targeted Leasing initiative, which has been set up specifically to target those experiencing or at risk of homelessness, is set to deliver over 400 additional social homes for 2023. The Department is also developing policy to help a tenant to buy their rented home on the basis of a landlord offering their tenant first right of refusal.
These measures are all aimed at preventing households from becoming homeless or to help people exit from homelessness in order to reduce the numbers of adults and children in emergency accommodation. As the implementation of these measures gathers pace, we will see their impact on the current homelessness situation become apparent.
The overarching objective of The National Homeless Action Committee (NHAC) is to ensure that a renewed emphasis is brought to collaborating across Government to implement actions in Housing for All, along with bringing better coherence and coordination of homeless-related services in delivering policy measures and actions to address homelessness. Membership of NHAC includes all relevant Government Departments, agencies and voluntary organisations involved in addressing homelessness .
Given the complexities and challenges involved in addressing homelessness, the Terms of Reference of NHAC provide that subgroups can be established to develop out proposals and examine particular issues arising. Membership of these subgroups is not limited to those who are members of the Committee, and can include organisations that have the expertise and knowledge to address issues arising.
At the first meeting of NHAC it was agreed that homelessness prevention measures should be a priority. In Q1-22, members of the Committee put forward homelessness prevention proposals and it was agreed that 16 actions could be taken from these proposals. Of these 16 actions, 8 are now complete and the remaining 8 actions are being progressed and are at various stages.
It was decided that 3 of these actions required further exploration which led to the establishment of three subgroups; Subgroup A: Mitigating the risk of homelessness for HAP/HHP tenant in arrears; Subgroup B: Mitigating the risk of homelessness for those transitioning from residential settings; Subgroup C: Early intervention services for children and their families.
These subgroups presented their final recommendations at the Q4-22 meeting of NHAC on 9 November 2022. My Department has reviewed all 50 recommendations made and consulted with relevant stakeholders. Of the 50 subgroup recommendations made, 12 are now complete, 35 of the recommendations are currently being progressed through the relevant areas and the decision has been made to not progress 3 of the recommendations as they were not feasible.
Progress on both the NHAC homelessness prevention actions and subgroup recommendations are monitored by my Department and updates are given are the quarterly NHAC meetings.
Reducing and preventing homelessness remains a top priority for the Government. I will continue to work with the National Homelessness Action Committee to ensure that we address both prevention of entries into homelessness and exits from homelessness as a matter of urgency. My Department will continue to work with local authorities to ensure sufficient funding is made available to support all those at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
