Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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226. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of times and dates on which the task force overseeing the interdisciplinary unit on homelessness has met since its inception; the progress it has reported to him, in terms of the impact on numbers of homeless; if he is aware of any time the task force, the cross-department team on homelessness, or the national homelessness consultative committee, has considered the problems presented by extreme variances in how some local authorities in the greater Dublin area respond to homelessness problems; if a wider strategy is needed for the whole area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27831/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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A Task Force and Unit are in place to identify and secure properties which could potentially be used to accommodate homeless families in the Dublin Region. The Unit is comprised of representatives from my Department, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, Dublin City Council and the Housing Agency. It is linking with NAMA, the Department of Justice & Equality, OPW and the Department of Education & Skills to determine potential State-owned properties. The Unit is overseen by a Task Force, chaired by the Secretary General of my Department and also comprising other senior officials of my Department, the Chief Executive and Assistant Chief Executive (Housing) of Dublin City Council, the Chief Valuer of Dublin City Council, the Director of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive and the Chief Executive and a Senior Executive of the Housing Agency. The Task Force first met on 28 April 2015 and has since met on 5 May, 11 May, 18 May, 15 June, 29 June and 6 July. On foot of its work, an initial 100 units of accommodation have been identified and their acquisition is currently in train.

The Task Force is also monitoring and, where necessary, invigorating other on-going actions and measures in place to address homelessness issues, such as the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Homeless Pilot; the Ministerial Direction on housing allocations; the return of vacant units to use; securing more suitable temporary emergency accommodation for families than that afforded by commercial hotels; and information and awareness campaigns for tenants and landlords. I report monthly to the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy and Public Service Reform on progress in relation to homelessness issues and initiatives, including those mentioned above.

The administration of homeless services is organised on a regional basis. The regional approach is considered effective as it brings 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. Statutory Management Groups , established under the provisions of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, which include representation from each relevant housing authority, exist in every region and it is the responsibility of these groups to consider issues around the need for homeless services and to plan for the implementation and funding of such services. The Dublin Region Homeless Executive coordinates homeless services in the Dublin Region . There are no plans at present to extend this model into the Mid-East or Greater Dublin Area , nor has this been recommended to me by any of the Groups referred to in the Question.