Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Two reports are being launched today concerning children and families experiencing homelessness. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs is reporting on the impact of homelessness on children and the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government report is on family and child homelessness. The Government welcomes the publication of these reports. The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government will examine in detail the content and recommendations of the reports, will liaise with the various Departments and State agencies responsible for the delivery of supports and services to families experiencing homelessness and will respond accordingly.

There are more than 1,700 families in emergency accommodation at present. This is an unacceptable level of family homelessness. However, it is important not to lose sight of the progress being made in dealing with this difficult problem. In the first six months of this year, 2,825 adults and their dependants exited homelessness into sustainable homes. In Dublin, one of every two families that presented to homelessness services in the first nine months of this year was found a home immediately, without a need to enter emergency accommodation. Family presentations to homelessness services have also fallen over the same period by almost 10% compared to last year. In the first nine months of this year, 786 families have exited emergency accommodation into a tenancy in Dublin, which is where the largest numbers are. This is a 48% increase on the 530 exits recorded over the same period last year. Since the start of the Rebuilding Ireland programme in 2016, the annual increase in the number of children in emergency accommodation has dramatically reduced, falling from an annual increase of 54% in the 12 months to September 2016 to an increase of just over 1% in the past 12 months.

This problem is not solved yet, and I do not pretend that it is. The way to solve it is through a dramatic increase in the supply of all types of housing and, in particular, social and affordable housing and affordable rental accommodation. In all those categories there are significant increases in planning permissions, commencements and completions. Next year, it is anticipated that an extra 26,000 to 27,000 new homes will come onto the market in a combination of all categories. That is a multiple of the position only a few years ago.

I share the Deputy's concern. I have visited many of the 29 family hubs, which have a capacity for just under 700 families. Housing families in emergency accommodation such as hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation is not suitable. I gave a commitment many times to move away from that and we have invested tens of millions of euro in tailor-made, emergency facilities for families in family hubs. I encourage Members to visit those family hubs, particularly if they are in their constituencies, to see how they work. They are not perfect or suitable for long-term family accommodation, but they provide emergency accommodation while we address the dramatic housing shortage this country has faced for a number of years.

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