Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this issue. I congratulate Deputy Coffey on his appointment as Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government with special responsibility for housing. It is an important area and I wish him well in his role.

I wish to raise the efforts being made to provide accommodation for homeless people, which has been the subject of many debates in the House. I have received a number of submissions in this regard. For example, one relates to Galway city where there is a long housing waiting list. COPE Galway, a local charity, proposes an allocation of €500 million for the social housing building programme, with a portion of that ring-fenced to tackle homelessness, particularly in the context of the 2016 Government target to eliminate long-term homelessness and the need to help people who are sleeping rough.

I was a little concerned, as were many other Members, when Dublin City Council, DCC, brought forward a proposal to use prefabricated buildings on derelict or vacant sites to house homeless families. Most people reacted by asking why not consider permanent housing. When the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection was asked about this, she acknowledged there was a need to consider permanent housing and to examine the programme to refurbish many vacant housing units in Dublin. It would be useful if we concentrated on such housing for families and refurbished houses that are boarded up. I hope the funding DCC has received will be used as a priority for these buildings as well as for the social housing programme. The chief executive officer of ALONE said he was astounded that such a proposal would be made because he felt that had nothing to do with the dignity of a person. Many of us have fought for temporary accommodation for schools and so on. However, we should consider permanent housing solutions given the housing crisis we face.

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter, which presents a challenge in Irish society. There is significant pressure on homelessness services. Recent figures show that 127 people are sleeping rough and more than 150 families are residing in commercial hotels in the Dublin area. More than 2,500 individuals are using section 10 funded emergency accommodation nationally. On 20 May 2014 the implementation plan on the State’s response to homelessness was published, in which the Government’s approach to delivery on its objective of ending involuntary, long-term homelessness by the end of 2016 was outlined. A copy of the plan is available on my Department’s website. It sets out a range of measures to secure a ring-fenced supply of accommodation to house homeless households within the next three years and mobilise the necessary supports. This will be in line with the Government’s homelessness policy statement, which emphasises a housing-led approach, accessing permanent housing as a primary response to all forms of homelessness. The availability and supply of secure, affordable and adequate housing is essential in ensuring sustainable tenancies and ending long-term homelessness. The plan is a blueprint for how this challenging ambition will be realised.

Homelessness is a national issue and, properly, the plan reflects this, but there is a concentration of the problem in the Dublin area. For this reason, Dublin City Council, the lead authority for the region, is taking a number of immediate steps to quickly bring the problem under control and begin the process of finding permanent solutions for those affected. These actions are in the context of the national implementation plan and are set out in the Dublin action plan. In June, Dublin City Council launched a public awareness campaign aimed at households in the private rented sector seeking to prevent such households from becoming homeless. The results so far indicate that the campaign has been very positive in that a number of households have been prevented from becoming homeless.

Bringing vacant local authority properties back into productive use as quickly as possible is one of the critical actions in the implementation plan and steps are being taken across the country to bring 1,800 such units into use before the year end. Other suitable vacant residential properties in State ownership are also being considered to be brought into productive use as quickly as possible. Some large sites in Dublin City have been identified by key stakeholders including the OPW, the Department of Defence and the HSE, and they are being considered by Dublin City Council. I share Deputy Kitt’s concerns about Dublin City Council’s proposal to use prefabs. The Department will carefully consider such proposals before any further action is taken.

My Department, the Housing Agency and NAMA continue to work with housing authorities and approved housing bodies towards identifying suitable NAMA housing units and bringing them into social housing use, including accommodation for homeless households. The number of homeless families presenting in the Dublin region has increased significantly in recent months. An average of 32 families are presenting each month. With the volume of new presentations, it is becoming increasingly challenging to provide appropriate and suitable accommodation, particularly in light of significant housing supply issues in the Dublin area.

The Dublin local authorities are statutorily responsible for providing accommodation for homeless persons and, unfortunately, hotel accommodation has had to be used as a form of emergency accommodation so as to avoid the need for families to sleep rough. This is unsustainable. The homelessness policy implementation team, charged with overseeing and monitoring the delivery of actions outlined in the Government’s implementation plan has been considering the matter further and options are being considered to alleviate the immediate problems in the Dublin region. The broader supply of housing will be addressed in the short to medium term by the actions being progressed in the Construction 2020 strategy, as well as the social housing strategy, which will be published shortly.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I support what the Minister of State said about vacant housing. I would like to follow up on the point he made about NAMA. Every local authority should have a transfer unit for NAMA property and, hopefully, we will have more opportunities to avail of the NAMA properties. The number of NAMA properties that have been used has fallen far short of what should be made available. A proposal by the leader of the Green Party, Eamon Ryan, on the use of timber-framed housing would be a very speedy way of providing very comfortable accommodation in a sustainable way.

A comment by Tony Geoghegan of Merchants Quay that homelessness seems to be becoming acceptable is very frightening and worrying. While Dublin has always been mentioned as the area where there is the greatest need for housing, figures from COPE Galway show that 112 families including 246 children are either homeless or at risk of homelessness. We must ensure people, particularly in Galway City, have a good chance of getting a house. However, applicants could be on a waiting list for a house for ten or 12 years. I hope the Minister of State will bear in mind the issues I raise and that something might happen shortly, rather than having long-term plans that are of no use to those who are suffering now.

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Again, I thank the Deputy for raising a critical and urgent matter that will require a mixed response in the short, medium and long terms. I note the Deputy’s comments on the use of construction innovations such as timber-framed housing and the possibility that it may be used to meet an immediate need on sites that become available. While myriad personal, financial and social reasons can contribute to a person's becoming homeless, for those involved the effects on their lives are similarly traumatic and disabling. Societally, the ramifications of homelessness are equally destructive and costly.

More than €500 million in funding is being made available through my Department in 2014 across a range of housing programmes and I expect that approximately 6,000 social housing units will be provided this year. The Department is also committed to continuing to develop innovative and sustainable approaches to the provision of social housing. An increase in the supply of new social homes is necessary, and it is acknowledged. Every available, appropriate unit needs to be transformed into a home as quickly as reasonably possible. It behoves all of us to consider where capacity already exists in building stock around the country and to respond to demand. There are many vacant and under-utilised units, which may not be houses but over-shop units and apartments, for example. I thank the Deputy, again, for raising this important matter.