Mr. John McCarthy:

To take Dublin as the area where not all by any means but where the greatest pressures are, the reasons for probably approximately 90% of homeless presentations are pretty much evenly split between people coming out of private rented accommodation and what are collectively termed family circumstances, which can be family breakdown or overcrowding. Obviously there are the other cases the Deputy described, where there are very complex health and social care issues that require a different form of solution.

We have a tenancy sustainment service in place with Threshold to try to promote tenant rights. I do not have the figures with me but it supports quite a significant number of tenants in the private rental sector in staying in their own homes. We have also made changes in the residential tenancies legislation to introduce longer periods of notice to quit so there is that longer time period within which services can engage with people who are at risk of homelessness. When people present as homeless, particularly families, the new housing assistance payment place finder service is playing a part in terms of trying to source accommodation for families so that in some cases they do not have to enter emergency accommodation or, if they do, it is for short periods of time.