Vol. 421 No. 4
60 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for the Environment if he will give details of the progress made to date by the Government in implementing the commitments given in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress on housing and the homeless; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The housing measures agreed in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress were further elaborated in “A Plan for Social Housing” published in February, 1991. The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 1992, which is currently before the House, makes statutory provision, as necessary, for the measures set out in the Plan.
As regards the specific issue of homelessness, I draw attention to pages 15 and 16 of the Plan, which deal with relevant policy measures. Since the Plan was published, revised guidelines have issued to housing authorities in regard to the accommodation needs of homeless persons and the authorities have been requested to utilise fully their powers to secure accommodation for any homeless persons in their areas and to give effect to the measures identified in the Plan.
Details of the results of the assessment by housing authorities of the scale of homelessness in their areas at 31 March, 1991 were published in the Housing Statistics Bulletins for the September, 1991 Quarter and for the year 1991, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library.
