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

I thank Deputy Ellis for raising this issue and giving me a chance on my behalf, on behalf of the Department and on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, to outline the position on this because it is a story that has been discussed over recent days.

Addressing homelessness is an absolute priority for this Government. Rebuilding Ireland, the Government’s action plan on housing and homelessness is a six year plan to increase the supply of housing significantly, particularly in terms of social housing. The plan also includes a range of measures to address homelessness and my Department is working proactively to deliver on these measures. Last year alone saw over 26,000 additional households having their social housing need met, utilising a budget of €1.4 billion. In order to build on this progress and to meet the needs of further additional households, the budget has increased by 36% to €1.9 billion this year. We are also making progress in exiting households from homelessness. In 2017, 4,729 individuals exited homelessness into an independent tenancy. While the numbers coming out are positive, we accept that there are still far too many living in emergency accommodation, bed and breakfast accommodation and hotels. It is far too high and no one is trying to say otherwise. It is over 9,500 as the Deputy said. Progress is being made but it is not enough and the Minister and I acknowledge and accept that but we did see 2,080 households leave emergency accommodation in hotels last year, with the majority of these households exiting into homes, rather than hubs. There is some movement through the system but there are still far too many there. It is correct to say that there are over 9,500 in emergency accommodation. To be honest, it is probably not true to say that they are all there for three or four years, but I will not argue over that. The majority are getting through the system. There are some cases that are there a long time but the majority are not and in some cases they might be in a hotel or emergency accommodation for three to six months and then find a home. Others are there for longer but it is not the case that all of these people are there for three or four years because 2,000 families have left hotels. It is also true that many families are offered other solutions, not always a permanent house or social housing but they are offered HAP or other rental assistance - some take it up and some do not for whatever reasons. It might not always suit them but very often people are offered that solution.

Rebuilding Ireland is working and everything is on target and all of the trends are correct in terms of the supply of housing coming in, for example an additional 7,000 social houses became available last year through all the different methods and they are in use. There will be over 8,000 houses this year. Unfortunately, there are continuing presentations to homeless services in the Dublin region on top of that. That means that we still have far too many families in emergency accommodation. As a consequence, we still have a reliance on hotels to provide additional accommodation for families until we can increase the availability of longer term solutions. Additional supply will help to solve that and that is the way to do it.

Pope Francis will be making the first Papal visit to Ireland in almost 40 years on 25 and 26 August and the visit is expected to put additional strain on the availability of hotels across the Dublin region around this time, which happens during many other events as well. It is not just because of the Pope's visit, it would happen with seasonal events and in August because of the tourist season anyway. The Dublin Region Homeless Executive, DRHE, closely monitors the demand for emergency accommodation and has contingency plans in place that provide additional bed capacity when required. Such plans were successfully activated, for example, during Storm Ophelia and Storm Emma and more recently during the series of concerts in the Phoenix Park, which placed demands on accommodation across the city because other events also increase the demand and it is not just the Papal visit. The DRHE actively pursues all accommodation options, which may include providing accommodation in neighbouring counties to ensure that families are provided with emergency accommodation when needed which is as appropriate as possible to their needs. We accept that it is not ideal to have to go to a neighbouring county. We always try to find solutions in the county in question.

Currently the DRHE has 41 family units available in Dublin city which are used on a one night only basis should any family be unable to access accommodation. The Deputy asked what new measures we are taking so a further 30 contingency units will be in place by the end of this month, located centrally so that those who make use of them have easy access to transport options to attend schools, work and other facilities. In addition, two new family hubs, which will provide additional capacity have recently opened in the Dublin region. My Department will continue to support the DRHE with resources and funding will not be an issue.

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