Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for the opportunity to raise this important matter. I also thank the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, for personally being in the Chamber. Both he and the Minister of State, Deputy Finneran, are committed to the homelessness strategy that was put together in 2008. They have achieved a lot in comparison to previous Ministers for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in terms of addressing this scourge in society.

More than 5,000 people in the country are now homeless. I appeal to the Minister to fight for those people at the Cabinet table to ensure no cuts in budget 2011 will affect the full commitment of the Department to end long-term homelessness. Many agencies work in this area such as the Simon Communities of Ireland, Focus Ireland and Crosscare. I acknowledge the great work of the volunteers in the various agencies to tackle homelessness. Focus Ireland has said that if there is a reduction in the budget, the services will be affected drastically and that people will be trapped in emergency accommodation. The target of 1,200 units was set. Unfortunately, only 171 units have been achieved to date via the long-term leasing scheme. I urge the Minister to continue with his commitment.

The health of those who find themselves homeless is affected by their circumstances. The Simon Communities of Ireland have completed a study of 788 clients. The majority of them have health issues such as a dependency on alcohol or drug use. People's physical condition is affected because they are subject to the elements and we have had much bad weather. More services need to be provided through the Health Service Executive rather than just accommodation being provided by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Homeless people require back-up services.

Long-term homelessness is considered to be for a period of greater than six months. Much emergency accommodation is currently being used but a great deal of it is sub-standard and shoddy. Issues arise about the conditions of some buildings that have been allowed to deteriorate by their owners and whether they comply with fire safety regulations. That area should be investigated. We must aim to get people out of emergency accommodation into homes in the community. The sooner that is done the better.

The Fine Gael Party is very much committed to ensuring that long-term homelessness is eliminated. I hope that will continue to be a priority for the Minister and that he will match his words with action and ensure that the budget is continued in 2011 at the existing high level, which is approximately €100 million in 2010. I also hope the budget for the capital assistance scheme, currently €145 million, will be retained or increased in the budget.

There are more than 2,800 ghost estates throughout the country and more than 100,000 empty housing units. It is clear that if the Minister follows through on the political will he has expressed that people who find themselves in the awkward and terrible situation of being homeless will be housed. I commend the work that has been done by the Government in this area but much more needs to be done.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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My Department's role in homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. The Minister of State, Deputy Finneran, and I have made major advances in this area by developing the homelessness strategy and an implementation plan, retaining current financing for homeless accommodation services in 2010 at a record level of €56 million, and putting regional homelessness action plans and consultative fora on a statutory basis. Despite the severe cutbacks that have taken place elsewhere, not only have we retained that funding we have increased it in recent years in the homelessness area. That is something-----

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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A lot more must be done. We cannot be complacent.

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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The Minister should be allowed to speak without interruption.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I assure the Deputy there is no complacency in this area. It is one which is close to my heart. We want to do our very best.

In addition, a comprehensive range of measures has been put in place to underpin the role of housing authorities and approved housing bodies towards achieving the strategy's ambitious objective of eliminating long-term homelessness and the need to sleep rough. This includes an enhanced programme for procurement of accommodation. A new tenancy-support system to help homeless persons live independently has also been put in place. A total of €60 million was recently approved under the capital assistance scheme to enable the voluntary and co-operative sector to purchase additional accommodation to meet specific categories of housing need, including persons moving out of temporary homeless accommodation. More than 100 of these units will provide long-term accommodation for such persons and approved housing bodies have been asked to develop proposals for the further delivery of leased units. The uptake on the enhanced programme leasing model has been slower than anticipated. Progress is also dependent on the response of market interests, including property owners and financial institutions.

The Minister of State, Deputy Finneran, is working with the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency and the local authorities in Dublin, where long-term homelessness is most pronounced, to ramp up the delivery of units. A Dublin regional accommodation procurement team is actively sourcing properties for immediate acquisition by local authorities. Funding is being provided from within the 2010 social housing investment programme. Dublin City Council is undertaking an accelerated programme to bring significantly more of its longer term vacancies back into use to meet urgent housing needs, including those of the long-term homeless. A regional homeless allocations team is streamlining the allocations process for all suitable properties.

A parallel initiative has been developed through Threshold's access housing unit to maximise the potential of the private rental sector to accommodate an increased number of homeless households, especially in current market conditions. It is hoped to accommodate in the region of 200 additional households under this initiative in 2010.

Taken together, these measures have the potential to make significant further progress towards reaching the target in the current year. The Minister of State recently chaired a meeting of all the statutory and voluntary bodies in the sector and encouraged them to renew their efforts to deliver on the objectives of the homelessness strategy.

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister.