Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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178. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the guidelines his Department has issued to local authorities advising them of the way they should define voluntary homelessness compared to involuntary homelessness; if his Department has issued guidelines to local authorities on the way they are to record presentations that are deemed to be voluntary homeless; and the number of presentations in 2015 where persons presenting are deemed to be voluntary homeless. [33296/16]

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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186. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on whether the use of the criterion that a person is intentionally homeless as grounds for refusing homeless priority by a local authority has no basis in legislation and that the use of this criterion is a misapplication of the homeless definition under the Housing Act 1988. [33304/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 178 and 186 together.

Section 2 of the Housing Act 1988 sets out the requirements for a person to be regarded as homeless by a housing authority for the purposes of the Act. It is a matter for the housing authority concerned to determine whether a person is regarded as homeless. I have not issued any guidelines to housing authorities in this matter.