Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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444. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government since the Pathway Accommodation and Support System was extended nationally in 2013 the amount of funding that has been allocated for the provision of permanent accommodation and services for homeless persons; the amount of money that has been allocated for emergency shelter accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17924/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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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 and related services rests with 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. Housing authorities provide additional funding from their own resources.

The Pathway Accommodation & Support System (PASS) was extended nationally in 2013 and is now operational nationwide. PASS will assist housing authorities to report on the dynamics of homelessness as it is addressed and 2014 will be the first year for which PASS will produce composite national data. These reports will be published on my Department's website as soon as they are available.

The Section 10 funding provided by my Department to housing authorities on a regional basis for the years 2009 to 2013 and the recently notified provisional allocations for 2014 are set out in the table below. The regional approach is considered more appropriate as it helps to bring a more strategic perspective to bear on action to address homelessness, including avoidance of over-concentration of homelessness services in certain centres and promoting appropriate regional availability of services, consistent with need.