Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)

The housing first programme is vital in getting single people, in particular, who are long-term homeless out of emergency accommodation. It has worked best in previous years when it was a mix of new build and acquisitions led by approved housing bodies using the capital advance leasing facility, CALF, and capital assistance scheme, CAS, funding mechanisms. There is real concern among local authorities, particularly in Dublin and Cork, that the changes the Minister made will make it difficult to reach the targets for this year, particularly if they have increased. I know the Minister will not answer the question and will probably just read out the script for the third time, but can he at least talk to the officials in his Department, who head up the homeless services, and to the local authorities to ensure that whatever target he sets for housing first this year is met through a mixture of new builds and acquisitions?

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