Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

Subsection (7) empowers the Minister to make regulations to set out how an assessment of housing need will be carried out on an individual household. The aim of housing policy is to provide accommodation for households not in a position to provide it for themselves. In this context, the particular goals have been set in the new homelessness strategy, The Way Home, relating to the elimination of long-term occupancy of emergency homeless accommodation. It is appropriate to set such goals as policy rather than a legislative objective. Eliminating long-term occupancy of emergency homeless accommodation will require careful planning and organisation at local level with support from central government. It will be achieved by an adequate supply of long-term housing in each local area to address current and projected needs, adequate community support services for households vulnerable to homelessness, accessible mental health and addiction services, and effective interventions by the homeless services.

As I explained to Senators on the previous occasion, The Way Home contains a number of actions, the majority of which have deadlines for completion under each strategy aim. It also includes performance indicators relating to each strategy aim. These will form the basis of a more detailed implementation which will assign lead roles and specific timetables to achieve the important national objective of ensuring that by 2010 no one will be in emergency accommodation for more than six months. A range of actions are required to make this and other elements of the strategy work. One of the most important issues from the legislative perspective is the commitment to introduce statutory local based homeless action plans. In practice, implementation has already started. A circular has been issued to all local authorities providing further details of action plans and advising them to commence work on updating their existing plans. It also advises them about their local homeless forum and the formation of the management group for each local homeless forum.

We are working on bringing forward a necessary legislative provision in conjunction with a more broadly based implementation plan. It is envisaged in The Way Home that these plans, as well as containing an overall vision and objective, will include output targets and timescales for achievement. The associated actions to be included in the plans must take account of the local position, as the experience of the homeless varies throughout the country. The plans must have regard to the national implementation plan and the guidelines that will be issued by my Department. In the light of this ongoing work, I ask the Senator to withdraw her amendment.