Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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129. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if involuntary long-term homelessness will be brought to an end by the end of 2016, as committed to in the Government's February 2013 homeless policy statement. [9240/16]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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Whilst there is a necessary focus at the moment on providing suitable emergency accommodation for homeless families currently in hotels, the Government is fully committed to ending long-term involuntary homelessness by the end of 2016 through the housing-led approach articulated in the Government’s 2013 Homelessness Policy Statement and through the detailed measures 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).

Substantial progress has been made in implementing these plans. Progress updates are provided to the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy and Public Service Reform and these progress updates are made publicly available on my Department's website. Given the extensive range of actions involved, it is not possible to outline the full range of progress made on implementation. However, some of the measures successfully implemented to date include the public awareness campaigns that have been implemented by the Dublin housing authorities, the Department of Social Protection and the Private Residential Tenancies Board designed to better inform tenants in private rented accommodation of their rights; the tenancy sustainment arrangements in relation to Rent Supplement operated by the Department of Social Protection; and the introduction of the pilot Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) for Homeless households in the Dublin region.

My Department will continue to pursue the full implementation of the range of measures designed to achieve the Government’s commitment to end long-term involuntary homelessness by end-2016, working in partnership with other relevant Government Departments and public bodies.