Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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352. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of homeless families in County Kildare; the number of families in emergency accommodation or awaiting allocation thereto; if funding has been allocated to Kildare County Council to address the issue on a permanent basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29626/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The Pathway Accommodation and Support System (PASS) was implemented nationally in 2014, as a national information and management system for homeless services that are overseen by housing authorities.  My Department collates PASS data from lead housing authorities on a monthly basis and these monthly homeless reports are published on my Department's website and can be accessed using the following link: .

The report for the Mid-East Region for May showed that 48 families accessed emergency accommodation in the region during the relevant count week in May 2018.  The Mid-East includes Kildare, Meath and Wicklow; however, the report does not include a breakdown at the county level for families.  

Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with housing authorities.  Exchequer funding towards the operational costs of homeless accommodation and related services is provided by my Department to housing authorities on a regional basis.  The Mid-East Region’s 2018 Exchequer funding allocation under the delegated protocol arrangements for homeless services is €1,200,000. This is the Exchequer allocation towards costs incurred by housing authorities in providing homeless services; housing authorities must provide additional funding, amounting to no less than 10% of the cost of the service being funded, from their own resources.

The funding needs of the various regions are kept under review on an ongoing basis and further recoupments will be considered on the basis of expenditure arising.

The delivery of increased social housing will be key to providing permanent solutions for those currently experiencing homelessness.  Rebuilding Ireland, the Government's Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness, includes targets to increase the number of social housing homes by 50,000 by 2021.  Each local authority has been allocated a target for the delivery of social housing. The target for Kildare County Council for 2018 is for the delivery of 374 homes under build, acquisition and leasing and a further 728 housing supports under HAP and RAS.