Mr. John Murphy:

I am grateful for the invitation to attend. I am a former Secretary General in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. I am also the chair of Depaul, a major provider of homeless services in Ireland North and South. I am joined by Mary Hurley, assistant secretary with responsibility for social housing and homelessness; and David Kelly, who has responsibility for the homelessness and housing inclusion supports unit in the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and who is a member of the inter-agency group.

In September 2017, I was asked by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, to chair the newly established Homelessness Inter-agency Group. The key aim of the group is to improve the State’s response to addressing homelessness through improving the co-ordination in the provision of services, and to address any existing blockages. The membership of the group includes representatives from the Departments of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Children and Youth Affairs, Education and Skills, Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Health, Justice and Equality, Public Expenditure and Reform; the County and City Management Association; the DRHE; the HSE; and Tusla. On foot of one of the group’s recommendations, a representative from the Department of Education and Skills has joined the group since the report was published.

The inter-agency group first met in October 2017. It has now met on eight occasions. In addition, several bilateral discussions have been held between bodies represented on the group. The group has considered a wide range of issues including examining the services delivered by the respective Departments and agencies, and identifying existing blockages while also looking at the scope for new initiatives. The group also engaged with the organisations involved in the delivery of homeless services nationally. A one-day workshop was arranged, with all organisations in receipt of State funding for the delivery of homeless services invited to attend. A very productive engagement was held with over 50 representatives from 19 separate organisations.

The prominent issues of discussion included homelessness and health, justice and family and youth homelessness. A number of issues relating to the structural arrangements in place between the State agencies and the NGOs were also discussed. Ongoing engagement with the NGO sector will be important for all the Departments and State agencies involved in the delivery of homeless services.

In June, I submitted a report to the Minister setting out details of the work undertaken by the group to date and making a number of recommendations for further actions to be taken to improve the State’s response to addressing homelessness. These recommendations include a range of issues relating to social housing policy; the interaction between health and homelessness, to which Ms Gleeson also referred, justice and research and reporting. The report also notes that addressing homelessness will be dependent on the delivery of measures in Rebuilding Ireland to increase the supply of social and affordable housing and to strengthen the functioning of the private rental sector.

I understand the committee’s focus is on homelessness numbers. In respect of the recommendations in the report regarding research and reporting, one of the issues faced by the group was the lack of data available in a number of policy areas. There is a need to have improved information available to the relevant State agencies to better inform policymaking, both in supporting those experiencing homelessness and developing interventions to improve the prevention of homelessness.

The group also considered the current data being collated and published by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. The Department publishes a monthly report setting out the numbers of individuals in emergency accommodation in each of the nine administrative regions in place for the administration of homeless services and funding at local authority level. The report also includes details of the numbers of families and associated dependants in emergency accommodation in each of the regions.

The group considered that the monthly reports provide a useful indicator to measure the number of people in emergency accommodation. However, the information is limited in terms of the picture it provides of the dynamics of homelessness. The report proposes a number of other matters that should be examined such as information on the numbers of presentations and exits and information on the reason for someone presenting as homeless, to which Ms Gleeson also referred.

Following the publication of the report, the focus of the group will be on overseeing the implementation of the actions set out in the report and considering the further measures that should be considered. There has been progress in a number of areas. The publication of the Housing First national implementation plan in September was a positive initiative, with ambitious targets set for each local authority. Housing First is a good example of the need for interagency co-operation to resolve homelessness, with a co-ordinated approach to providing housing and health supports to some of the most vulnerable users of homeless services, including rough sleepers.

There has also been good progress in the delivery of additional emergency accommodation, with additional beds for singles and family hubs being progressed in Dublin and other areas nationally. The additional funding announced in budget 2019 will support the delivery of emergency accommodation to minimise instances of rough sleeping and, by increasing the number of family hubs, provide appropriate emergency accommodation to families experiencing homelessness.

In terms of supporting households into independent tenancies, the roll-out of the HAP placefinder service nationally has been important and the appointment of dedicated placefinder officers in the local authorities is supporting this objective. However, increasing the supply of social housing and improved functioning of the private rented residential sector will continue to be essential in delivering solutions for those households currently in emergency accommodation.

The group will also review the delivery of services on an ongoing basis and identify further actions that are required. In this regard, it is clear that the first report of the interagency group does not represent a definitive statement of the actions to be taken. Achieving better co-ordination and collaboration in respect of these complex issues will require a continuing focus. I am happy to assist the committee in its deliberations.