Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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244. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the reason Dublin City Council does not receive the same level of funding from his Department to fund its homeless services as other local authorities (details supplied) ; and the amount of funding expended in each local authority on homeless services and the central allocation of funds they receive for each of the past five years. [31526/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In accordance with section 10 of the Housing Act 1988, my Department does not fund homeless services directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards the costs of homeless accommodation and services. The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1993 provide that the recoupment to housing authorities by my Department under section 10 arrangements shall not exceed 90% of such payments made. Therefore, this is a recoupment upward limit and, furthermore, housing authorities may also incur additional expenditure on homeless services outside of the 'section 10' funding arrangements.

Given the statutory position, the exact amounts spent by housing authorities on homeless services are a matter for those authorities. Details of the Section 10 Exchequer funding provided to housing authorities by my Department for the years 2011 to 2015 are set out in the table below on a regional basis.

Funding provided under Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988

This regional allocation has been provided on a delegated basis whereby responsibility for decision-making in relation to the funding of particular services rests with the housing authorities within the regions. This funding arrangement was implemented on the basis that the housing authorities would make funding decisions within the available allocations, or would source additional funding from other internal sources. The provision of delegated funding puts an emphasis on increased decision-making at local level to promote overall efficiency and value-for-money in homeless services.

In addition to the delegated allocation, my Department has previously recouped additional costs to the regions where such expenditure has arisen as a result of unforeseen expenditure incurred as a result of increased rates of homeless presentation and associated costs, such as accommodation in commercial hotels. My Department has provided similar reassurances to the regions again this year.