Bernard Allen
Ceist:450 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the steps he is proposing to take to achieve a 50% reduction in the overall numbers of homeless people by the end of 2005. [23289/02]
Vol. 558 No. 1
450 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the steps he is proposing to take to achieve a 50% reduction in the overall numbers of homeless people by the end of 2005. [23289/02]
An Agreed Programme for Government contains a commitment to ensure that homelessness is tackled in a co-ordinated manner in all parts of the country and that the comprehensive homeless strategies now in place are implemented. While our objective is to reduce the level of homelessness as far as possible the programme does not include the specific target level of reduction referred to in the question.
One of the key requirements of the Government's integrated strategy on homelessness was that local three year action plans would be drawn up by homeless fora, with representatives of the local authority, health board and voluntary sector, to detail how accommodation, health, settlement and welfare services will be provided to homeless persons by all of the agencies involved. Most of these action plans and associated local targets have now been completed and they provide a clear framework for the planning and delivery of support and services to the homeless. The remaining few plans are in the process of being finalised by local authorities and health boards and should be adopted shortly.
A wide range of additional accommodation, ranging from emergency night shelter accommodation to long-term sheltered accommodation to enable homeless persons move out of emergency accommodation into long-term accommodation that is more suited to their needs, has been provided in recent years and more will be provided as part of the full implementation of the action plans.
451 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the most recent figures for homelessness here, which were 5,234 in 1999, which was a doubling of the 1996 figures. [23290/02]
The most recent assessment of housing needs, which included a count of the number of homeless persons, was carried out by local authorities at the end of March this year. The data in relation to local authority housing waiting lists, which has been finalised and published, shows that a total of 2,468 homeless households were considered to be in need of local authority housing. This figure does not include persons who have been assessed as homeless by local authorities but who are not included on local authority housing lists because, for example, their need is not for local authority housing but rather for long-term supported accommodation.
My Department is currently finalising figures in relation to the total number of persons who have been assessed as homeless in each local authority area and this information will be published shortly.