Gabrielle McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I commend the recent work of Minister, Deputy Kelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Coffey, in addressing the crisis in Dublin. I point out that the crisis is not just confined to Dublin, but is a nationwide problem.

The Government's 20-point action plan to tackle emergency and short-term homelessness has committed €20 million to provide 260 additional emergency beds for people sleeping rough in Dublin and a night café to provide a contact point for homeless people who do not want to be placed in emergency accommodation.

The programme for Government contains a commitment to end long-term homelessness by using a housing-led approach by 2016. Following a request by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Dr. Eoin O' Sullivan published a paper entitled Ending Homelessness: Towards a Housing-Led Approach. The paper was critical of homeless services that were focused primarily on providing hostel accommodation as opposed to supporting people to attain their own homes.

Funding is very important but we also need to adopt a systematic approach to addressing long-term homelessness. For example, the midlands Simon Community has shown this through its very successful regional settlement service which is based on the housing first model. This model provides the stability of a home is the first step in helping people overcome the issues of homelessness. This model is not just proven to be an efficient and cost effective method of helping people move out of homelessness, but has also proven to benefit the lives of service users.

The midlands regional settlement service operates in the counties of Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath in conjunction with the four local authorities and in partnership with HSE, and the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government. The service works with individuals, couples and families who are referred to the service by the local authorities. They are supported to move out of homelessness and into a home of their own through the development of a personal action plan.

I strongly agree with the recent comments of Midlands Simon Community CEO, Mr. Tony O'Riordan, who has said that homelessness in the midlands is an invisible problem. In Dublin, we can see the problem in a visible way. As Mr. O'Riordan has said, in the midlands, people sleep in their cars, on couches or on the floors of friends' homes, none of which appears in any official statistics.

An official report in 2011, Review of Services Addressing Homelessness in the Midlands 2011, found that despite receiving the lowest level of section 10 funding from the national homelessness budget, the midlands region achieves very significant outcomes and results. Unfortunately, this review found that funding for the midlands region was well below the State average on a per capitascale and the basis of the amount spent on each service user. Ongoing data that the midlands region regularly provides to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government show that the region continues to perform competently with meagre resources.

In the context of doing a lot more with few resources, I compliment the work of Westmeath County Council, which is the lead authority on behalf of the midlands homelessness region which also covers Longford, Offaly and Laois. Unfortunately, the low level of overall funding for the midlands region continues to put huge pressure on services at a time when there has been a 30% increase in demand for these services. I ask the Minister to be cognisant of the efficiencies and value in the delivery of homelessness services in the midlands and for this to be acknowledged with increased resources when the national budget is approved.

In the week 20 to 26 October 2014, data provided by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government showed that 2,580 individuals were homeless and accessing emergency accommodation nationally. This figure does not include people sleeping rough. Charities working with homeless people nationally also estimate that up to 5,000 people could be homeless in this country. It is very clear the scale of the problem is huge.

The Government's plan envisages the delivery of 2,700 units between now and the end of 2016. Some of the main mechanisms identified in the plan include bringing vacant properties back into use; ensuring that local authority allocation schemes give priority to vulnerable groups such as homeless families and individuals; working with NAMA and the voluntary sector to ensure that units are prioritised for homeless households; and ensuring that leasing arrangements facilitate the use and accessibility of these properties by homeless households.

It is imperative that the momentum we have now to address this crisis is sustained until we achieve meaningful results right across the country.

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