Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Byrne for raising this, which is a very important and pressing issue in society. It is true to say we are seeing an increase in the number of people accessing emergency accommodation and the situation is proving very challenging. The Government, local authorities and those in the NGO sector are making every effort to prevent and protect those at risk of homelessness. Resources and funding are not an obstacle to the urgent efforts required. Budget 2023 provided more than €215 million, which is an increase of 10% on 2022, for delivery of homeless services. This will ensure that local authorities can not only provide emergency accommodation, but importantly homeless prevention measures too. It will also ensure they can support households to successfully exit homelessness into secure tenancies.

Cognisant of the risk of homelessness faced by renters this coming winter, the Government recently legislated to protect them by deferring any no fault tenancy terminations from taking place over the coming months. Analysis suggests this could prevent more than 2,000 tenancies being terminated. This emergency measure is necessary and will provide assistance in the short term. However, over the long term the answer remains an increased and sustainable supply of new housing.

We will be adding significant social housing to our stock in 2022. The quarter 2 construction status report shows 8,247 social homes on site, an additional 12,327 homes at design and tender stage, and a further 118 new construction schemes, comprising 1,647 homes, were added to the future pipeline. Looking to next year, State investment of €4.5 billion is in place to deliver a record 11,830 social homes, including 9,100 new builds, in 2023. Supply as a whole is increasing. Almost 28,000 new homes were completed in the 12 months to the end of September, which is the highest rolling 12 month total of any comparable period since comparable data were first published in 2011.

In addition to our focus on increasing supply, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has introduced a number of measures to help those at risk of homelessness. These include recent changes to the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme to increase the discretion rate to 35% and expand the couple's rate to single persons. This will secure and expand more tenancies and prevent new entries to homelessness. We have also legislated to increase the notice to quit period for no fault evictions. The minimum amount of notice a landlord must give a tenant with a tenancy of less than three years duration before evicting them, has now increased from 28 days to three months. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has also made it clear to local authorities that where there is a risk of a tenant being evicted into homelessness, as a result of a landlord selling the home that the local authority will be supported to purchase the home, should that be appropriate.

The delivery of cost-rental homes is also a key affordability measure under Housing for All, with State backed rents in the order of 25% below what they would be on the private market. Some 900 cost-rental homes have been approved in just over a year since this new rental offer was legislated for. In 2023 a further 1,850 cost-rental homes are to be delivered. The Government's ambition to deliver cost-rental homes at scale will transform the rental market, providing tenants with secure tenancies in sustainable, long-term homes.