Ms Orla Barry:

There are currently two gaps with regard to tenancy sustainment. There are 1,177 people with mental health difficulties who are currently housed in HSE community residences. The intention is that those people will move into some form of independent living and social housing. There is no funding in place to make that support. The difficulty arising is that there is a falling between stools between the HSE and the local authorities as to who is responsible for funding tenancy sustainment. Those houses are currently staffed by mental health nurses. It is intended that those posts will return to the mental health system, so there is a significant gap. That support has traditionally come from social housing providers. The Housing Association for Independent Living, HAIL, is a social housing provider specialising in housing people with mental health difficulties. The association's tenancy sustainment and visiting support services cost €6,000 per person per annum to maintain a support that can float in and float out for as long as that person needs it. This is a support that is needed within the mental health service but the discussion has to happen between the two Departments as to where that funding stream is to come from.