Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 122: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the detail of the planned supports for homeless services as indicated in the budget 2008 speech; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35054/07]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 127: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he plans to propose legislation to amend section 11 of the Housing Act 1988 to ensure that local authorities are required to set aside a proportion of any social housing acquired or built by that authority to specific categories of person such as those progressing out of homelessness and victims of domestic violence as they are currently not adequately catered for; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35058/07]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 559: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of persons identified as homeless; the action or actions he proposes to take to address the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35575/07]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 81, 122, 127 and 559 together.

The social partnership agreement Towards 2016 contains a commitment to the elimination of the long-term occupancy of emergency homeless accommodation by 2010. It should also be noted that the Homeless Agency, which is the partnership body which coordinates homeless services in Dublin, has defined as its overarching goal the elimination of long-term homelessness and the need to sleep rough in Dublin by 2010.

Specifically in relation to the numbers of homeless persons, 2,399 households comprising 3,031 individuals were identified as homeless in the most recent Assessment of Housing Need, carried out by local authorities in March 2005. Many of these households would have been in hostel or bed and breakfast accommodation with some living in long-term supported housing. These figures marked a significant reduction from those recorded in the previous Assessment of Housing Need 2002, when 2,468 households and 5,581 people were identified as homeless.

In 2007, funding of €52.2 million was provided by my Department for accommodation and related services for homeless persons. Since 2000, the Government, through my Department, the Department of Health & Children and the Health Service Executive (HSE), has provided almost €450 million in capital and current funding nationally for the provision of accommodation and care related services for homeless persons.

Work is underway in my Department on the finalisation of a revised Government Strategy to address adult homelessness. This will include a refocusing on the provision of accommodation in the social, voluntary and private rented housing sectors, exploiting the significant potential of the Rental Accommodation Scheme in this area and ensuring the availability of appropriate outreach and resettlement supports. Specifically, in relation to the issue of housing for victims of domestic violence, my Department is engaging with COSC, the new National Office in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform with key responsibility for ensuring the delivery of a well co-ordinated "whole of Government" response to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. I expect that the new Government Strategy on Homelessness will be published in Spring 2008.

The allocation of local authority housing is a matter for each housing authority in accordance with their scheme of letting priorities made under section 11 of the Housing Act 1988. Such schemes are required to provide that the housing authority may set aside for persons of such category as the authority may decide a particular proportion of available dwellings. As set out in the Government's housing policy statement, Building Homes, Sustaining Communities, published earlier this year, it is intended that a reform of the allocation practices of housing authorities generally will be undertaken. Work is ongoing on this reform process.