Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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386. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of money spent for each of the past five years on emergency accommodation for persons with housing needs. [6510/14]

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.

While it is clear that a proportion of funding must be used to provide sufficient bed capacity to accommodate those in need of emergency accommodation, it is equally important that resources are channelled to deliver more permanent responses in a more focused and strategic way.

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. Housing authorities provide additional funding from their own resources.

In February 2013, I published the Government’s Homelessness Policy Statement in which the Government's aim to end long-term homelessness by the end of 2016 was outlined. The statement emphasises a housing-led approach which is about accessing permanent housing as the primary response to all forms of homelessness. The availability and supply of secure, affordable and adequate housing is essential in ensuring sustainable tenancies and ending long-term homelessness.

The Homelessness Oversight Group, which I established in 2013 for the purposes of reviewing the progress of the approach being advocated in the statement, identifying obstacles and proposing solutions has submitted its first report to me. The report considered information on emergency and other accommodation. I am considering this report and its recommendations and I will consult with my Government colleagues on the implementation of these recommendations, as appropriate. A copy of this report is available on my Department's website, .

Details of expenditure on emergency accommodation by each of the 9 regions for the years 2009 to 2012 a re presented in the table below; anticipated outturn figures are provided for 2013 and the finalised figures are expected shortly.