Ms Eileen Gleeson:

I thank the committee for the invitation to discuss the report of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, DRHE, to the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government of June 2018. I am here in my capacity as director of the executive, which operates a shared service on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities. I am joined by my colleague, Ms Bevin Herbert, head of communications. In order to provide the joint committee with a more accurate picture of the current position, the information contained in my statement uses the most recent statistics.

It is widely accepted that homelessness in Dublin is, in part, symptomatic of inadequate housing supply. Against this backdrop, the DRHE continues to tackle homelessness and bring forward innovative solutions to help the more vulnerable members of the community. The DRHE works to move people through emergency accommodation with health and support services towards a sustained exit from homelessness. This work is carried out through three main areas of operation, namely, prevention, protection and progression.

Homelessness prevention continues to be a priority for the DRHE and the introduction of homeless housing assistance payment, HAP, and the place finder service have been hugely important in driving capacity and effectiveness of HAP as a preventative option. Of the 1,332 households prevented from entering homelessness in the period from January to September, 1,232 took up HAP tenancies. The DRHE recently began collating data on the number of children prevented from becoming homeless. Figures for August and September indicate that 463 children were prevented from entering emergency accommodation. We have a designated homeless prevention team that works with families presenting as homeless to find an alternative solution to entering emergency accommodation.

In the context of protection, a total of 6,313 adults and children were in emergency accommodation as of 13 September last. This represents 3,431 households. Significant progress has been achieved in moving families from hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation to family hubs. While we recognise that hubs are not a long-term solution, family hubs provide accommodation specifically designed for more optimal family living until additional housing supply becomes available. In addition, rather than placing families in emergency accommodation, the DRHE has been endeavouring to place families and individuals in fully furnished, own-door units that allow families to live independently. Although they are not at risk of homelessness or in emergency accommodation, these families are receiving supports and staff continue to engage with them to support them into long-term tenancies. There are currently 210 families with 308 dependent children in these units in the Dublin region. The number of new families accessing homeless services varies each month, with an average of 98 families in the Dublin region doing so each month. Although an additional 878 new families entered emergency accommodation in the Dublin region in the nine months to the end of September, the overall net increase in the number of families over the same period was 135. The ongoing work carried out by the DRHE in preventing families from entering homelessness and exiting families from emergency accommodation to tenancies is a significant factor in maintaining a low net increase.

Table 5 in my submission details the trends for individuals accessing emergency accommodation from January to September. The Housing First model is integral to the DRHE's response to people sleeping rough and enables individuals who have a high level of complex needs to obtain permanent and secure accommodation. Of the 222 individuals supported in Housing First tenancies to date, 191 have successfully retained housing. This represents a retention rate of 86.1%. The recently launch Housing First implementation plan for 2018 to 2021 sets targets for the roll-out of Housing First in every local authority in the country. Full implementation of the plan, along with further expansion of the Housing First programme nationally, is contingent on additional funding from the HSE.

I will move on to progression and exits from emergency accommodation. From January to September, 801 households exited homelessness to tenancies. The DRHE has recently begun collating data in respect of the number of children exiting homelessness and figures for August and September indicate that 230 children exited emergency accommodation. One of our main challenges is social housing supply, and an increase in the overall supply of housing is critical to addressing homelessness in the longer term. The delivery of single-person social housing over the coming years is essential, particularly to our ability to deliver the Housing First expansion. HAP is a massive solution to addressing and preventing homelessness. If the structures of HAP allowed us to access private rented accommodation outside the Dublin region, it might add to our ability to prevent people ever becoming homeless in the first instance. Implementation of a more flexible arrangement would help to address tenancy shortages on the HAP side.

On the private rented sector, a real indication of the challenge faced is revealed in our July and August figures for new families accessing emergency accommodation. The information is in figure 2 on the last page of my submission. Over 50% of the families presenting at homeless services are coming from the private rented sector. It should also be noted that the percentage for those coming from family circumstances or family breakdown may include people coming from the private rented sector; they may have gone home to live with family initially only for that relationship to break down. The figure of 50% from the private rented sector may be an underestimation of what is actually coming from that sector.

On complexity of homelessness, our response to the extreme weather events over the last year highlighted the extensive range of medical needs of people in both long-term and short-term emergency accommodation. Many vulnerable people such as those released from hospital, State care and prison often have no other option than to present as homeless. Specific care packages and additional step-down facilities are required to relieve the pressure on homeless services. The DRHE will continue to collaborate with all agencies on behalf of the four local authorities to drive the response to homelessness for the most vulnerable members of the community in the Dublin region.