Frances Fitzgerald
Ceist:15 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the resources available to the homeless in the Dublin area. [1631/99]
Written Answers. - Homeless People.
Frances Fitzgerald
Ceist:60 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the number of homeless in the Dublin area. [1632/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 60 together.
In 1998 my Department recouped £19.2 million to the four Dublin local authorities in respect of their expenditure on accommodation for homeless people and emergency accommodation for asylum seekers. The provision in 1999 for these recoupments is £20 million.
A substantial part of funding provided under the voluntary housing capital assistance schemes has been used to meet the capital cost of emergency, transitional and long-term accommodation for homeless people. I recently announced substantial increases in the funding limits of the scheme designed to improve the capacity of voluntary bodies to provide accommodation under the scheme. The provision in 1999 for projects under the scheme has been increased by 10 per cent to £16.486 million.
The capital funding for the provision by local authorities of hostel accommodation or other suitable short-term or transitional housing for homeless people has been increased from £2 million in 1998 to £4 million in 1999.
Local authorities also have powers under section 10 of the Housing Act, 1988, to provide or fund the cost of accommodation for homeless people. This includes contributions to voluntary bodies providing such accommodation, meeting the cost of accommodation arranged directly by local authorities themselves or by health boards on their behalf, and funding appropriate resettle ment and other initiatives to assist homeless people. My Department recoups 90 per cent of these costs to local authorities.
The total funding available for the Dublin homeless initiative is £600,000, of which £350,000 is provided by Dublin Corporation and £250,000 by the Eastern Health Board. My Department recoups 90 per cent of the corporation's funding to the initiative.
In relation to the number of homeless persons, I have asked local authorities, in guidelines issued to them on 17 November in relation to the next assessment of homelessness to be carried out in March 1999, to ensure that every effort is made to record accurately the total number of homeless people in their functional areas. To this end, I have asked them to consult and liaise with adjoining local authorities, health boards and voluntary bodies providing accommodation and services for homeless people in their areas. In addition, the guidelines suggest a survey over a period of a week rather than on a specific date, in an effort to more accurately identify the extent of homelessness.
The last such assessment was in respect of the position at 29 March 1996 and details of that assessment, on a local authority basis, are contained in Part XIII of the Department's Housing Statistics Bulletin for 1996, copies of which are in the Oireachtas Library.