Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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550. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of homeless households that have been housed in Dublin since December 2014, and if this is in line with the target of providing homes for 500 persons by June 2015. [17634/15]

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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551. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of funding that has been released by his Department since the adaption of Dublin City Council’s Budget 2015, to tackle homelessness in Dublin City. [17635/15]

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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552. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans for the use of the hotel, under the control of the National Asset Management Agency, to provide accommodation for homeless families. [17636/15]

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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553. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if Dublin City Council can use any apartment properties under the control of the National Asset Management Agency for temporary emergency accommodation. [17637/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 550 to 553, inclusive, together.

A range of measures are being taken to secure a ring-fenced supply of accommodation to house homeless households and mobilise the necessary supports nationally in order to deliver on the Government's target of ending involuntary long-term homelessness by the end of 2016. These measures are set out in the Government's Implementation Plan on the State's Response to Homelessness (May 2014) and in the Action Plan to Address Homelessness (December 2014). These include measures with regard to NAMA property and the allocation of housing units by key housing authorities to homeless and other vulnerable households. Progress in implementing these plans is reported through the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy and Public Service Reform. The plans and progress reports are available on my Department's website at the following link: South Dublin County Council has recently completed the purchase of a NAMA apartment block, as the preferred option to a hotel property, which will operate as an assessment centre for homeless families providing 65 units of accommodation. A service level agreement has been put in place with a provider and it is expected that this facility will be fully operational by June. My Department continues to work closely with NAMA, the Housing Agency, local authorities and approved housing bodies in relation to the delivery of social housing. NAMA has made significant numbers of housing units available through the Housing Agency to local authorities and approved housing bodies for social housing use including addressing homelessness. This includes units provided through the NAMA special purpose vehicle, the National Asset Residential Property Services. Information in relation to the delivery of NAMA sourced units, including a full breakdown by county of units delivered on a quarterly basis, is available on the Housing Agency’s website at .

I am confident that significant numbers of social housing units will continue to be delivered through this process.

Successfully tackling the current homelessness issue demands that a higher priority be afforded to homeless households in the allocation of housing. Accordingly, I issued a Direction to a number of key housing authorities on 27 January 2015 to prioritise homeless and other vulnerable households. This Direction applies for six months, from 27 January 2015 to 26 July 2015. Under this Direction each of the Dublin housing authorities must ensure that at least 50% of the dwellings available for allocation under Section 22 of the 2009 Act during the specified period will be allocated to such households that had qualified for social housing support on or before 1 December 2014. It is expected that this intervention will deliver approximately 500 homes for households in the Dublin Region. Housing authorities will be reporting on the first 3-months operation of this Direction very shortly.

As regards funding, I have made an additional €10.5 million of ‘Section 10’ funding available for homeless accommodation and services across the country in 2015. This is an increase in funding of over 20%, bringing the Exchequer contribution to €55.5 million. The 2015 regional allocations are currently being finalised with a view to their confirmation shortly. 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, under Section 10 arrangements. To date in 2015, my Department has recouped €4,698,333 in ‘Section 10’ funding to Dublin City Council – further payments will be made upon receipt of quarterly reports from the Council.