Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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253. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the funding he provided to local authorities for homeless services and its percentage of the total local Government spending on homeless services in each of the years 2008 to 2016 to date in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17179/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department does not fund any homeless service directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards the operational costs of homeless accommodation and related services under Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988. Under Section 10 funding arrangements, housing authorities must provide at least 10% of the cost of such services from their own resources. Furthermore, housing authorities may also incur additional expenditure on homeless related services outside of the Section 10 funding arrangements. Therefore, the exact amounts spent by housing authorities on homeless services are a matter for those authorities.

“Section 10” funding is provided through my Department to housing authorities on a regional basis; an annual breakdown for the years 2008 to 2015 is set out in the following table:

Funding Provided under Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988

The national budget for 2016 is confirmed at €70 million. While the 2016 regional allocations are currently being finalised, the funding needs of the various regions are kept under review on an on-going basis, taking account of known and emerging costs of services, and my Department has provided reassurances to all housing authorities in this regard.