Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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56. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the total allocation of funding available under the LEADER programme 2007-2013; the amount spent to date; the amount remaining to be spent until the end of the programme; the latest date for the spending of this money; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44875/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The total spend under Axes 3 & 4 of the Programme to date is €213 million, leaving an estimated balance of €157 million to be spent on projects and operating costs. The Local Development Companies (LDC) contracted to deliver the Programme on behalf of my Department also administer a food measure under Axis 1 of the Programme and to date almost €2 million has been committed under this measure with expenditure of €230,147. The EU regulations allow for expenditure under the Programme to continue up to the end of 2015.

My Department's role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation for homeless persons rests with the housing authorities. The purposes for which housing authorities may incur expenditure in addressing homelessness are prescribed in Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988.

My Department does not fund any service directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards the operational costs of homeless accommodation and related services under Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988. The bulk of Section 10 funding from my Department goes towards the costs incurred in the provision of accommodation services by the voluntary sector providers who have built up the services over the years. In addition, Section 10 funding is used to support day services such as drop-in centres and food services, as well as outreach services, settlement and tenancy sustainment services and the cost of local authority and voluntary sector staff.

The Section 10 funding provided in 2012 by my Department and through local authorities to wards the costs incurred by voluntary sector providers in providing homeless accommodation and related services is set out in the table below. Housing authorities provide additional funding from their own resources to these providers. Definitive data relating to 2013 funding will not be available until the end of the year.

Section 10 Funding to Voluntary Sector Providers in 2012

In addition, details of the funding provided by my Department to organisations tackling the issue of homelessness, under the Scheme to Support National Organisations in 2012, are set out in the following table.

I have no function in relation to the financial viability of homelessness charities.