Ms Claire McSweeney:

Based on the experience of what is happening on the ground and who is taking the lead on finding the accommodation, we have the place finders pilot that is led by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, DRHE, and Dublin City Council. We have seen a renewed effort there and are looking forward to seeing them back on the ground and looking for accommodation this year. One of the challenges is the emphasis on families and trying to get them out of bed and breakfast accommodation. Given the accommodation that is coming up for rent which we can use the HAP payments for, there is a lack of accommodation suitable for single men, mostly, without families. While we welcome the emphasis on finding family accommodation, we have been vocal on that issue. The DRHE's plan for the next three years is coming up and we are continuing to emphasise the need for accommodation for single people. As people are released from prison, we can find a lack of single units that we can support people into. There is a cross-agency approach between approved housing bodies and the support services that are going into people's homes taking that Housing First approach.

On the point about people saying in the system and not having the supports, anecdotally we would notice in our emergency services the impact of that accommodation not being available on those with a history in prison. They know what to expect from prison. They know that maybe when they go into prison they will have a period of dry time and a break from alcohol or drug use. Spending a long time in emergency accommodation can be stressful so we find people planning their re-offending to take a break from the emergency services or rough sleeping. People are in that cycle between prison and emergency accommodation. Every time they do it, it is harder to escape. We see the impact of the Housing First model because the housing would be put in place immediately, the supports are put in and everything is built around the person in their home. It is a co-ordinated approach.

Perhaps Ms Randall will pick up on the policy.