Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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31. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the amount that has been spent on emergency accommodation by his Department and local authorities to tackle the immediate homelessness crisis in the four Dublin local authorities in the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15773/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, 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 and related services for homeless persons rests with individual 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 homeless accommodation or service directly but provides funding to lead housing authorities on a regional basis. Housing authorities also contribute to the funding costs for their areas from their own resources. In 2014, my Department provided €35 .3 million in Exchequer funding to Dublin City Council, as the lead authority for the Dublin Region, towards the operational costs of homeless accommodation and related services under Section 10 arrangements. The 2015 regional allocations are currently being finalised with a view to their confirmation shortly.