Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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257. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the guidelines for usage of the pathway accommodation and support system to record homelessness; if risk of homelessness is quantified or measured in any way by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38805/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The 2009 National Implementation Plan for the Homeless Strategyprovides for the development and implementation of a single integrated national data information system on the use of homeless services. The usage of the Pathway Accommodation and Support System (PASS) by homeless service providers has been established by housing authorities as a criteria for the provision of State funding on homelessness. Dublin City Council provides PASS as a national shared service, whereby statutory and non-governmental homelessness service providers throughout the country can avail of the software package without the requirement for costly individual support and licence arrangements and with Dublin City Council providing user support. PASS records the details of homeless services that are funded through housing authorities under Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988 and whereby the individuals using such services are defined as homeless under Section 2 of that Act.

Data on the risk of homelessness is not recorded on PASS. However, within the overall approach to addressing homelessness, particular attention is paid to homelessness prevention, including in relation to specific vulnerable groups at risk of becoming homeless.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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258. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that collection of data for homelessness is not comprehensive as it does not count the number of homeless families sharing accommodation with their families; the interim measures he plans to utilise to gather this data; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38806/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Data on homeless households in emergency accommodation is provided through the Pathway Accommodation & Support System (PASS).

Households that are qualified for social housing support are recorded by housing authorities through social housing assessments. When assessing the housing need of an applicant household for social housing support, each housing authority records, among other information, details on the household’s current tenure such as whether they are living with parents, relatives/friends or homeless. This information is reflected in the statutory summary of Social Housing Assessments which provides details of the number of households qualified for social housing support and on housing authority waiting lists. The latest summary was carried out at 7 May 2013, in accordance with Section 21 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, and the results are available on my Department’s website at .

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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259. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the numbers of homeless individuals and families recorded on the pathway accommodation and support system in each quarter in each local authority where it has been active since it came into operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38814/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Traditionally it has been difficult to quantify the number of homeless persons on an ongoing basis; this is in part a consequence of the volatility within this cohort of housing need. In February 2013, at the time of publication of the Government’s Homelessness Policy Statement,a set of indicators was identified to be used to demonstrate the dynamics of homelessness as it is addressed. These indicators will give a clearer picture of homelessness in Ireland and, in quantifying its ongoing extent, will support the implementation of realistic and practical solutions. The Pathway Accommodation & Support System (PASS) is now operational nationwide and will assist lead housing authorities in each of the 9 regions to report on these indicators. 2014 will be the first year for which PASS will produce composite national data on homelessness. Quarterly reports from lead housing authorities are being published on my Department's website as soon as these are available. Lead housing authorities are also providing monthly reports on homelessness which identify the number of people utilising State-funded emergency accommodation on a regional and county basis. These monthly reports also provide details of the breakdown of the individuals and the numbers of families and dependents that are in emergency accommodation. Both the quarterly and monthly reports are available on my Department’s website at,.