Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
857. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 628 of 25 July 2023, the steps he will take before 24 August 2023 to make sure that the families and children specified will not be made homeless. [37701/23]
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 a local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless accommodation and related services rests with individual housing authorities.
Specifically under Section 10 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 local authorities are responsible for the provision of housing supports to households for the purposes of meeting their accommodation needs, including services provided to homeless persons under Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988.
Where a landlord has issued a notice of termination to a tenant, a number of new measures have been introduced and existing measures were expanded to support the acquisition of the property by the tenant or the local authority, as set out in my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 628 of 25 July 2023. They include measures for households that qualify for social housing support and those who are ineligible for social housing.
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.
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.
Policy is being developed to help a tenant to buy their rented home on the basis of a landlord offering their tenant first right of refusal.
For 2023, the Government has agreed that there will be increased provision for social housing acquisitions and my Department will fund local authorities to acquire at least 1,500 social homes. The additional acquisitions will be focused on properties where a tenant in receipt of social housing supports has received a Notice of Termination due to the landlord’s intention to sell the property. My Department issued a circular letter to all local authorities in March, setting out details of these arrangements and each local authority was provided with a provisional target for social housing acquisitions in 2023 and these allocations are being kept under review.
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.
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.
