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

To clarify, nationally the number of families accessing emergency accommodation services is up, with 89 presentations in September nationally, but the overall trend is also downward. The rate of increase between July and September of 1.8% nationally is much lower than the average for the previous three months, 4.8%, and the similar period last year. This year, every working day of the week, 80 new tenancies will be supported through social housing supports. Next year, that target increases to 98. We have the increase in family hubs as I discussed. The Deputy mentioned the target for getting families out of hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation. That was not achieved in the middle of the summer and I recognise that. The target still remains to look after each one of those families in every hotel and bed and breakfast, and get them into a hub as a first, temporary response, into HAP-supported accommodation or into a new home. That is our target. I cannot give the Deputy a definite deadline as to when we will actually meet that target because we are talking about individual families. We have to be sensitive to their needs. We have to work as best we can with the services to make sure that we are compassionate and can find them secure and sustainable homes that meet those needs.

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