Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair and members for the opportunity to appear again before the committee, this time to discuss the very serious issue of homeless numbers and to update the committee on two important reports on homelessness which I published yesterday. These reports were prepared by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive and the inter-agency group on homelessness chaired by Mr. John Murphy, former Secretary General. I am joined by Ms Mary Hurley, assistant secretary, who has responsibility for social housing and homelessness, and Mr. David Kelly, principal officer, who has responsibility for the Department's homelessness and housing inclusion supports unit.

I reiterate that tackling homelessness continues to be a top priority for the Government. I have always said that one family in emergency accommodation or one individual on the street is one too many and that remains my position. Working with my Department and local authorities, the committee can be assured that every effort will continue to be made to address this issue. The two reports that I have recently received will be carefully considered and any further policy responses that may be required will be brought forward to ensure we continue to provide individuals and families with the supports they need. Resources and funding are not an issue, and I have made the point to local authorities many times that all the required funding and resources of the State are available to them to advance new initiatives in response to homelessness in their local areas. I have emphasised the importance of being innovative in their responses to homelessness and in providing the most suitable and appropriate solutions and supports to those experiencing homelessness in their local areas.

While homeless families and individuals continue to present, it is important to note that progress is also being made on the ground. The number of people sleeping rough has fallen dramatically. In April 2018, the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, DRHE, undertook a count of rough sleepers and confirmed that the number had reduced by 40%, from 184 in November 2017 to 110 in April 2018. Housing First is working, with a new national director and a retention rate of almost 90%. This shows that we are keeping people out of homelessness once we get them into a home. In 2017, 4,729 individuals exited homelessness, which is a 54% increase on the previous year. The number accommodated in hotels still remains below the high level it reached in 2017. There are now 22 family hubs in place and these are the preferred first response.

People are spending less time now in emergency accommodation than they did previously, thanks primarily to the new family hubs, with 45% of families in emergency accommodation exiting within six months.

Through the dedicated efforts of exit teams, 2,080 families left hotels last year, the majority of whom moved into homes rather than hubs.

Unfortunately, despite the number of exits from homelessness that we are achieving, ongoing presentations to homeless services mean the number of people in emergency accommodation remains unacceptably high. According to the April homelessness report, there were 5,963 adults in emergency accommodation, including 1,712 families with 3,689 of dependants. At my request, research was conducted earlier this year and a comprehensive report was submitted last week by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive. The report, which is available on my Department's website, includes detailed information across a range of areas, including reasons for family homelessness; prevention activities; citizenship of service users; the use of emergency accommodation; and exits from emergency accommodation. I very much welcome the progress, outlined in the report, that the DRHE is making in preventing households from becoming homeless. There is scope for us to do more in this area, particularly as the report refers to the number of individuals who are unwilling to consider a HAP supported tenancy in the private rental sector as a housing solution.

The report examines the reasons for family homelessness, with the vast bulk of presentations relating either to family circumstances or issues with private rented accommodation. The data collected on presentations arising from issues with private rented accommodation are not sufficiently detailed to allow us to analyse the reasons in most cases, but where sufficient information is provided, the issues specified mainly relate to the sale of a property.

With regard to exits from emergency accommodation, the report noted that families will typically exit emergency accommodation within a quicker timeframe when residing in a family hub rather than a hotel or bed and breakfast accommodation. This emphasises the importance of the continued development of family hubs. While I would prefer not to have any families in emergency accommodation, it is clear that a hub provides a better temporary solution than a hotel, and hubs are only temporary. The report identified that approximately 500 people with a range of medical conditions are being accommodated in emergency accommodation. For the majority of these individuals, Housing First will not be the answer and their complex needs may require longer term supported accommodation. The report outlines that 595 offers of social housing were made to households in emergency accommodation, of which 81% were accepted. It also notes that families willing to avail of HAP were found to exit from homelessness much faster than families that exited through an offer of local authority or approved housing body tenancies.

Details of the citizenship of services users are also included in the report, with Irish nationals accounting for 67% of users of emergency accommodation, other EU nationals accounting for 12% and non-EU nationals accounting for 21%. A number of the issues identified in the DRHE report highlight areas where other arms of government have a role to play and agencies such as the Health Service Executive and Tusla are actively involved in the response to homelessness. To ensure the State's response to homelessness is effectively co-ordinated, I established the homelessness inter-agency group following the housing summit of last year. The group is chaired by Mr. John Murphy, former Secretary General of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. The group includes representation from my Department, the Department of Health, the HSE, the Departments of Children and Youth Affairs, Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Justice and Equality and Public Expenditure and Reform, the County and City Management Association, the DRHE and Tusla. The group recently submitted a report to me, setting out a number of recommendations to improve the State's response to homelessness. A number of recommendations relate to areas within my Department's remit. It is my intention to bring forward policy responses to address these recommendations within a short timeframe.

While there is much work that we can do to prevent homelessness and improve the experiences of those who become homeless, the real issue my Department is striving to address is the delivery of more houses. We will continue to face a serious challenge with people presenting to our services until significantly more homes are built, both in the social and private housing areas. Rebuilding Ireland is a six-year programme to bring our housing sector back to a stable state and we will achieve sustainable progress on the homeless front as new homes are delivered. Last year alone, more than 26,000 additional households had their social housing need met, utilising a budget of €1.4 billion. To build on this progress and meet the needs of additional households, the budget was increased by 36% this year to €1.9 billion.

We must bear in mind, as is made clear in both reports, that for many people in emergency accommodation today, simply providing a home will not be the answer. Their needs are more complex and we must be sensitive to those needs. That requires more complex policy responses that take time to implement and will not always be successful in the first instance.

I look forward to engaging with the committee members on the reports, both of which have now been published.