Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I have couple of points on Housing First. There is a firm commitment in this regard in the programme for Government. We have now moved that on to another level with the budget for next year, or the additional moneys to expand Housing First across the country.

Regarding the most recent data that I have, the national implementation plan, issued in September 2018, includes a target of 663 tenancies for the period to 2021. We have been moving in that direction. Really good progress has been made on the national implementation plan for Housing First. According to the most recent figures I have, 27 individuals entered Housing First tenancies in quarter 3 of this year, bringing the total number of individuals housed under the programme to 459. That is with all the wraparound supports we need. I am 100% committed to this, as are my colleagues in the Government. It works and we want to expand it further. Yesterday, I launched the Peter McVerry Trust report for 2019. The trust is heavily involved in the delivery of 14 other programmes associated with Housing First across the country and expanding it out.

On the total expenditure on Covid measures, I can give the Deputy the quarter 3 figures, which are the most up-to-date ones I have available. To the end of quarter 3, local authorities reported expenditure of about €28.5 million on Covid-19 measures. Ongoing expenditure on Covid-19 is difficult to predict but the current levels indicate an additional €12.5 million from quarter 3 onwards. Therefore, the sum is fundamentally Covid-related. It is a matter of additional bed capacity and decongregated settings on the homelessness side. On the local government side, the expenditure has pretty much been Covid related. The additional capital for the next year is what we are focusing on.

I will obtain for the Deputy the figures on the provision of emergency accommodation on private lands versus public lands. The standard of private emergency accommodation has been brought to my attention on a couple of occasions. We are examining this very closely. I do not have the split to hand but I will get it for the Deputy.

As Deputy Ó Broin stated, inspections are important. That is why we have provided additional moneys to local authorities to employ staff to carry out inspections. That was in this budget. There is a significant increase in funding for additional staff in the RTB for the inspection of private rented accommodation. In many instances, we have decent regulations, but they need to be enforced. We need staff out enforcing them. The additional resources are in place for next year. The RTB and local authorities are recruiting inspectors in this area.