Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is the case for August and September. This is welcome progress. I know it is too slow and that we need to do more. The Government recognises that, and that is why we have increased our funding for homelessness services next year. We have also increased our HAP supports for next year, as committed to in the budget for 2018. There are still 690 families in hotels. Any one family in a hotel or bed and breakfast accommodation is one too many but that figure is significantly down on the high point that was reached in March earlier this year when 871 families were in hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation. That is a 20% decrease in the number of families in hotels. We are working with all stakeholders to ensure that these numbers reduce further over the coming months.

Regarding targets for next year, we have five new family hubs in Dublin and a further three new hubs in Limerick and Cork coming on board for our expanding homeless accommodation programme by the end of the year. That will look after at least 180 families in this first response of accommodation as we move them into more secure accommodation. We are developing out a programme for more hubs next year to help these families while we are building more houses and finding more HAP solutions for them.

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