Joanna Tuffy
Ceist:207. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the status of funding of homeless agencies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41983/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 25 November 2015
Ceisteanna (207)
Freagraí scríofa
Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities. My Department does not fund any service directly but provides funding to housing authorities on a regional basis as a contribution towards costs incurred; housing authorities also provide funding from their own resources. The purposes for which housing authorities may incur expenditure in addressing homelessness are prescribed in Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988. Details of the ‘Section 10’ Exchequer funding provided, for the years 20 11 to 2014 and allocated for 2015, by my Department to housing authorities towards the operational costs of homeless accommodation and related services are set out below. A significant portion of the funding provided annually by my Department goes towards costs incurred by housing authorities in funding the provision of homeless services by providers, such as Focus Ireland, Simon Communities of Ireland, Peter McVerry Trust, Crosscare, De Paul Trust, Salvation Army, etc. Service Level Agreements are in place between housing authorities and service providers in respect of homeless services funded under Section 10. These service providers may also receive other funding from other Government departments and agencies.
Section 10 Funding 2011 – 2015
|
2011 |
€48,123,050 |
|
2012 |
€46,545,963 |
|
2013 |
€45,000,000 |
|
2014 |
€49,205,774 |
|
2015 |
€52,849,125 (allocation) |
Furthermore, as confirmed in the Budget 2016 announcement, I have secured funding of €70 million for homeless services in 2016, which is an increase of approximately 32% on the 2015 allocation. In addition, my Department is currently liaising with all the regions with regard to any possible requirement for further Exchequer funding in 2015, on the basis of expenditure actually incurred over and above their allocations, with a view to ensuring that any such funding requirements will be addressed before year-end.
The Action Plan to Address Homelessness ( December 2014 ) included a commitment to commission an evaluation of the homelessness sector including its structures, service delivery and coordination arrangements. Accordingly, my Department has commissioned an independent review of homelessness services. I expect that the draft report will be submitted to my Department before the end of this month.