Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 May 2019
672. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of persons in sections 10 and 32 funded services; the number of adults and children in each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21936/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra682. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of households in emergency accommodation in each local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22118/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 672 and 682 together.
My 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 local level. Under Exchequer funding arrangements in place my Department does not fund any homeless services directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards the operational costs of homeless accommodation and related services under Section 10 of the Housing Act, 1988. Under these funding arrangements housing authorities provide at least 10% of the cost of services from their own resources. Furthermore, housing authorities may incur additional expenditure on homeless related services outside of these funding arrangements, including the provision of services under the Health Acts.
My Department publishes a monthly report on homelessness. The monthly report is based on data provided by housing authorities and produced through the Pathway Accommodation & Support System (PASS). The report sets out details of the number of adults and associated dependents utilising emergency accommodation arrangements overseen by housing authorities.
The most recent report is for March 2019 and showed that there were 10,305 persons in emergency accommodation in that month, comprising 6,484 adults, 1,733 families incorporating 2,445 adults (a subset of the overall 6,484 adults) and 3,821 associated dependants. The monthly report does not provide details on household composition.
The March 2019 monthly report is available on my Department’s website at the following link: https://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/homelessness/homeless-report-march-2019
The Health Service Executive may provide funding to organisations delivering health services, including organisations involved in the delivery of homeless services, under section 39 of the Health Act 2004. The provision of funding under the Health Act 2004 is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Health.
