Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 October 2020
29. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which the number of planned Housing First places compares with the identified need; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28488/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Minister is aware, internationally the Housing First model has proven to be very successful in tackling homelessness, providing housing for people and housing tenancies. What is the difference between the number of Housing First tenancies identified as being needed under the national Housing First plan and the number of Housing First tenancies that are planned to be provided as matters stand?
I thank Deputy O'Callaghan for the question. Addressing homelessness, as we mentioned at a committee meeting earlier, is an absolute priority for me and my colleagues in government and, no doubt, everyone in the House. The programme for Government commits to reducing and preventing homelessness and provides details on how the Government will approach this challenge. The national implementation plan for Housing First was published in September 2018. The plan, which includes an overall target of 663 tenancies in the period from 2018 to 2021, is a joint initiative of the Department, the Department of Health, the HSE and local authorities. Background information, national targets and regional targets are available in the Housing First national implementation plan document.
As of the end of June, the most recent figures for 2020 show that 449 individuals were housed under the Housing First programme, including 302 individuals who have been housed since the publication of the national implementation plan. The programme for Government further commits to a continued expansion of the Housing First programme. I agree with the Deputy that it is a model we should be following. It is one that is already working here and it should be expanded further.
There will be a focus on construction and acquisition of one-bedroom homes and the provision of the relevant support services. I put that out through the call for housing earlier this year within four weeks of taking over as Minister. We need more one-bedroom properties and we need to ensure that wraparound services are available.
An assessment of need is being undertaken to examine the number of individuals experiencing homelessness who require the supports of Housing First. This assessment will inform the future expansion of Housing First, including any increase in targets for individual local authorities and where we expand the Housing First initiative into other regions of the country.
When is the assessment of need due to be carried out or completed? As the Minister said, the national Housing First implementation plan identified 1,349 people with high support needs. They are people who have been sleeping rough or who have been homeless over the long term. It identifies a particular group of people who could really benefit from Housing First. The strategy also planned to provide places for half of these people who really need them. I welcome what the programme for Government says about expanding Housing First but what I really want to ask is whether the Minister will expand the initiative so that all of the finite targeted group with high support needs, who have been identified as those who would benefit from a Housing First tenancy, will be supported with a Housing First tenancy, instead of us continuing to put €4 million a week into emergency accommodation.
I will get the date of publication and send it on to the Deputy. The Housing First data are published quarterly and are as up-to-date as we can get them. It is expected that services delivered in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Dublin will be extended to the south west, mid-west and west. That is the plan. We have to ensure the requisite services, particularly health services, are in place.
I mentioned earlier that I chair a regional drugs and alcohol task force. I see on the ground the importance of ensuring we have HSE and health services available, particularly for those with addiction and-or mental health issues. I have met the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, at a formal bilateral ministerial meeting on the commitment in the programme for Government to bring health and housing together in delivering these services.
In the HSE winter plan, which has just been published, there is a commitment by the HSE for an additional €5.5 million focused on rough sleepers and the most vulnerable in our community. We need more and I am committed to address that in budget 2021. I hope we will have further opportunities to discuss it next week.
On the need for supports, there has been a 13% cut in the HSE funding for the ACCES community health team which works with people who are homeless in terms of mental health. Will that cut be reversed?
As the Minister knows, Housing First can be delivered as it is within the capacity of the State. Will the Minister secure the funding to ensure we can get Housing First tenancies in place for that finite number of people, instead of continuing to plough large resources into emergency accommodation? This could be a cost-neutral measure if it were implemented in time, or thereabouts, in terms of use of resources.
The quality of the supports, as the Minister said, is important. There are some concerns that some of the roll-out has not put enough emphasis on the quality of support. Will the Minister look at this?
I cannot give the Deputy a commitment today. I have engaged intensively with the HSE in this regard. One of the first things I did when I was appointed Minister was set up a homelessness delivery task force. It meets every week and is made up of the stakeholders such as the homelessness NGOs and the tenancy advocates, as well as senior officials in my Department. From that has evolved a formal team set up between my Department and the Department of Health. I want to see that engagement at a much greater level.
I agree with the Deputy that we can do much more in this space. Housing First has been successful and needs to be expanded further. We have to keep an eye on this over the winter. That is why we are at a detailed stage in the preparation for the winter plan with regard to additional capacity for emergency accommodation should we need it.
The focus has to be on providing the wraparound services. The Department of Health has a big part to play in that. I am glad to report to the House that it has been open in that regard in the first three months of this Government. I want to drive it on further.
