Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising the issue. It is always very difficult when one meets a family in circumstances such as those outlined. There are a variety of complex reasons people become homeless. It is challenging to find solutions to every individual's problems. Certainly, loss of employment, to which the Senator referred, is often the trigger, combined with the current general decline in the supply of available, accessible and affordable rentals.

Increasing both public and private housing supply is a critical issue for the Government. I have published a homelessness policy statement outlining a housing-led approach, which is about avoiding people going to hostels and ensuring they go into homes where they can receive support when that is needed. I have established a homelessness oversight group, which has submitted its first report to me. The report considers the lack of social housing for homeless households and those interested can access it on my Department's website.

We also established a high level homeless policy implementation team and its job is to implement the oversight group's report and to bring forward a structured, practical plan to make the transition from a shelter-led response to a sustainable housing-led response to homelessness and to achieve the 2016 goals for homelessness. The team will report on this plan to the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy later this month and I will report directly to the Cabinet on the issue.

Significant moneys are provided for homelessness services and for the new provision of new homes. I expect that approximately 5,000 social housing units will be provided this year. Large numbers of people are on housing waiting lists and I am committed to developing innovative and sustainable approaches to the provision of social housing. I would like to increase the supply of new social homes and to ensure every available appropriate unit is transformed into a home as quickly as is reasonably possible. We will provide funding for void or empty local authority houses in the next few weeks, which will bring some houses back into use.

The purpose of this Department of Social Protection-led rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to assist with reasonable accommodation costs of eligible people living in private rented accommodation. Currently, there are approximately 78,000 rent supplement recipients for whom the Government will provide more than €344 million in 2014. My Department understands 2,400 rent supplement recipients reside in County Louth with 1,100 in Dundalk. This is what I have been told but I acknowledge the Senator is on the ground. A significant number of landlords, therefore, accommodate applicants on the scheme. The analysis suggests properties are available in County Louth and Dundalk within the current maximum rent supplement limits but I understand that may not be appropriate for the size of family to which the Senator refers and that every case is unique. The Minister for Social Protection and I are moving towards introducing the housing assistance payment, HAP, which will transfer responsibility for long-term rent supplement recipients to local authorities. This will make it easier to find appropriate accommodation for people. I appreciate the Senator has an urgent case on her hands and it is distressing for the family concerned.

Homelessness is a major problem in the Dublin area and a co-operative system has been set up among the local authorities and community welfare officers from the Department of Social Protection to intervene where families, in particular, are in danger of homelessness and to address the issues they face. Louth County Council is the lead authority in the north east homeless region and the Senator said the family approached the homeless unit. However, we have not cut the funding for homelessness this year and we have given the same amount to each region. I appreciate the family is stuck in this position and if there is any way I can provide advice, I will but, in general, we are trying to move towards a system that is more concentrated on ensuring families do not become homeless and to intervene as early as possible.