Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 460: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the levels of funding provided under section 10 of the Housing Act 1988 in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, and the projected amount in 2012; if he will provide a breakdown of the funding drawn down in the period 2008-2011 and projected for 2012 by each local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5447/12]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation for homeless persons rests with the housing authorities and the purposes for which housing authorities may incur expenditure in addressing homelessness are prescribed in Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988. Information in respect of funding provided under Section 10 for the 34 City and County Council areas for the years 2008 to 2011 is set out in the Table below. Funding is provided at the rate of 90% of cost with the housing authorities providing a further 10% from their own resources. My Department's funding provision for the running costs of homeless accommodation and related services for 2012 is €50 million, which together with 10% provided from housing authorities' own resources, brings the total available funding to €55 million in 2012.

The level of funding required for each housing authority area will vary from year to year, having regard inter alia to the gradual introduction of a 'housing led' approach and the ongoing reconfiguration of homeless services. The development in 2012 of more devolved regional service protocols and allocations for the provision of accommodation-related funding - commencing with the Dublin region – means that the projected outturn for each of the housing authority areas in 2012 is unknown. Devolution of Section 10 funding, as foreseen under the National Implementation Plan for the Homeless Strategy, will provide for an emphasis on increased decision making at local level, in lieu of the existing individual project based arrangements, and will improve overall efficiency, value for money and local decision making in homeless services.