Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation for homeless persons and related services rests with housing authorities. My Department 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. Funding from my Department has been substantially protected over the past number of years despite the wide-scale pressure for reductions in Government spending across all Departments. During 2013, €45 million was provided through my Department to housing authorities under Section 10 which represented a decrease of 3.32% on the 2012 outturn of €46.546 million. This reduction was applied equally to each of the 9 regional allocations for homeless services in 2013. In 2014, regional allocations were maintained at the same level as 2013 and €649,707, representing approximately 1.4% of the national budget, was allocated in respect of the Midlands Region.

The Budget 2015 announcement confirmed that an additional €10.5 million will be available, through my Department, for homeless accommodation and related services across the country in 2015. This is an increase in funding of over 20%, bringing the Exchequer contribution to €55.5 million. My Department is currently considering the appropriate allocation of this funding so as to ensure that Section 10 homelessness funding contributes to meeting the needs in the various regions. The additional funding will ensure continued progress toward the achievement of the 2016 target of ending involuntary long-term homelessness and will assist in meeting commitments outlined in the Implementation Plan on the State’s Response to Homelessness.