Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Unfortunately, the Minister of State with responsibility for housing and planning, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, is not available to take this debate today, but she has asked me to thank the Deputy for providing this opportunity to discuss the issue of homelessness and the Government's response to it.

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government's role in respect of homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility for the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with the housing authorities - in this instance, Dublin City Council. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government has no function in this regard, nor is it involved in decisions on operational matters.

I understand St. Catherine's Foyer is a housing facility in Dublin 8 which deals exclusively with young people aged 18 to 25 who have experienced homelessness or are in danger of becoming homeless. The facility can accommodate up to 40 individuals for stays of up to two years. There is a focus on personal development and all residents are assigned a member of staff who assists them in achieving life goals such as education, skills development, job searching and emotional development.

The future day-to-day operational management of St. Catherine's Foyer is a matter under consideration by the board of the foyer - that is, Cara Housing Association Limited. This consideration relates to its ongoing role as a management agent in the provision of homeless services in Dublin.

Both the Health Service Executive and Dublin City Council are supporting Cara Housing in this process and the board of the foyer is now engaged with Dublin Simon in exploring opportunities for the ongoing management of services in keeping with the Government’s policy on addressing homelessness.

The Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, recently published the Government's homelessness policy statement. It is a clear, concise and accessible articulation of the political and policy focus that informs the approach to ending homelessness. It places an explicit emphasis on a housing-led approach as the primary response to homelessness. Long-term and sustainable housing should be the primary response to all forms of homelessness. A housing-led approach is the emerging consensus in international social policy, both academically and in practice. It is generally accepted as a positive departure from previous models which saw stable housing as the end goal in combating homelessness and individuals moved through various stages in residential services, from emergency to transitional, before being assessed for long-term independent housing.

The previous approaches to homelessness saw individuals trapped in emergency accommodation for long periods. The emphasis on short-term emergency interventions has proved expensive to administer and operate. More importantly, it did not serve the individual well in terms of dignity and well-being. The housing-led approach to homelessness outlined in the policy statement incorporates the provision of support for people in their homes according to their needs. We need to focus on long-term solutions to homelessness. The goal is to assist homeless persons who can live independently into mainstream accommodation as soon as possible. It is about sustaining tenancies. It is important that a range of housing options is available to enable someone to move out of emergency accommodation as quickly as possible into long-term accommodation more suited to their needs. There can be no greater solution to homelessness than providing people with a home where they can live as full and valued members of society.

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