Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Lahart for raising this topical matter. I assure him that I will convey his message to the Minister and Minister of State. Although I have a prepared script that will be read into the record, we can deal with some of the issues raised in the time available for supplementary questions. It is very important that the Deputy raised the issue of advocacy.

We are facing a crisis in homelessness in this country. The Minister, Deputy Murphy, acknowledged that earlier this year and that is why resolving the crisis and helping every individual and family with compassion and care remains a priority for the Government.

Local authorities provide a wide range of services to those experiencing homelessness and have wide and flexible statutory powers to assist or make arrangements for the accommodation of homeless persons. To support that, homeless funding is provided by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government under section 10 of the Housing Act 1988. In addition, housing authorities provide funding from within their own resources.

As regards homeless services in Dublin, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive's central placement service at Parkgate Street provides a range of such services to homeless people. Homeless individuals or families can meet with a staff member at the placement service who will consider their needs, assist them to access accommodation as required and advise them in regard to accessing other support services.

Families or individuals at risk of homelessness usually begin to engage with homeless services before their existing accommodation becomes unavailable, whether that be days, weeks or months before they become homeless. That allows the Dublin Region Homeless Executive time to consider the various requirements of the household concerned and to tailor supports and consider accommodation options. In many instances, the homeless executive has successfully assisted those who engage at an early stage. So far this year in the Dublin region, almost 600 households who engaged with the homeless executive at an early stage have been prevented from entering emergency accommodation by securing a new private rented tenancy under the housing assistance payment.

The Dublin Region Homeless Executive will also work with those presenting to consider if they are eligible for social housing and assist in the submission of an application if appropriate. It will also engage with the landlord on the family's behalf if there are issues that advocacy can assist. A State-funded prevention service is also available through Threshold which can provide support and advice to those at risk of homelessness and examine any notices to quit they might have received for validity. However, often prevention is not possible and temporary accommodation will be required. The Dublin Region Homeless Executive's freefone helpline operates nightly until after 1 a.m., and anyone seeking emergency assistance out-of-hours can be accommodated through this service.

The Minister, Deputy Murphy, spoke to each of these issues yesterday in the Dáil. Where a family seeks homelessness services for the first time out-of-hours, they will be referred to the Focus Ireland family homeless action team, which provides the contact point under a funded service level agreement with the Dublin Region Homeless Executive. The action team will consider the presenting family's immediate needs and work with them to secure hotel accommodation for that night. The next day a more thorough assessment of the individual family's requirements will be conducted. Following this assessment and information session, the family will be allocated a case worker who will work with the family throughout their homelessness episode, with a view to ensuring they benefit from the available supports.

State-funded services are also available on a nightly basis to individuals who are sleeping rough. A Focus Ireland-McVerry Trust consortium is fully funded to provide a nightly Housing First service which engages rough sleepers on a proactive basis in an attempt to get individuals to access accommodation or consider entering a Housing First tenancy. Once an individual or family engages with homelessness services, the homeless executive will work tirelessly to seek solutions, and it is achieving significant success in this regard. In the first six months of this year, the Dublin housing authorities assisted 1,400 adults to exit homelessness services into independent tenancies. The Deputy can be assured that the Minister, Deputy Murphy's Department and the homeless inter-agency group, established in September of this year following the housing summit, will continue to work with all local authorities and stakeholders to address the very serious homelessness issues that this country faces.

See this speech in context