Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for raising this issue in the House. On a given night in the Dublin region, there are approximately 1,650 individuals in temporary emergency accommodation, such as hostels and other supported accommodation. This includes an additional 275 beds that have been put in place in the last two years.

The most recent Dublin region rough sleeper count recorded 102 individuals as sleeping rough in the region on the night of 24 April last. This compares with the figure of 91 recorded the previous November and 106 in April 2015. The Dublin region's outreach services work on an ongoing basis to engage with all individuals sleeping rough with the specific goal of moving people into either emergency accommodation or housing-first solutions. The next official Dublin region count will be held towards the end of this month, with the exact date to be finalised in the next couple of days. The official rough sleeper count is the accepted methodology across all the various stakeholders. However, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive estimates there may currently be in the region of 140 individuals sleeping rough.

The Dublin region cold weather plan has commenced operation and is subject to ongoing review. This proactive plan is undertaken each year as winter approaches with the emphasis on having a variety of additional options for people who do not or cannot avail of existing homeless services. The overarching aim is to prevent fatalities and other serious harm due to rough sleeping in very cold weather. As part of this plan, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive is putting in place additional emergency accommodation in the Dublin region with a view to these beds being operational by early December. They are advancing three projects at present, which will see over 200 additional bed spaces provided. One of these is at the former St. Nicholas of Myra Centre at Carman’s Hall in Dublin 8, which will provide 50 beds. The provision of homeless services, including accommodation, is a statutory function of housing authorities and my Department has no role in operational matters such as the selection of sites and the delivery of on-site services.

Given the Dublin Region Homeless Executive’s current estimate of approximately 140 rough sleepers, the additional bed spaces will be enough to cater for all those presently sleeping rough who wish to bed down for the night while allowing for some additional capacity. Also, Rebuilding Ireland - an Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness recognises that simply providing additional emergency beds is not a viable long-term solution for individuals in emergency accommodation, particularly those availing of the services on a regular or recurring basis. These are people with complex needs and Rebuilding Ireland commits to housing-led initiatives through which permanent, stable and supported housing will be provided to these individuals, thus reducing the reliance on emergency accommodation over time. Rebuilding Ireland has set a target of securing 300 such tenancies in the Dublin region by the end of 2017, which is triple what the current housing-first programme is due to deliver this year. The Dublin Region Homeless Executive is working with a consortium of Focus Ireland and the Peter McVerry Trust to deliver this programme.

I hope that gives the Deputy some indication that hopefully these plans are just temporary. We are trying to put in place long-term, permanent solutions to be able to give these people the option of a permanent home.

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