Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

244. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the steps being taken to address and eliminate child homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7143/19]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The latest Homeless Report published by my Department, for December 2018, showed that there were 1,617 families, with 3,559 associated dependants, accessing emergency accommodation.

Rebuilding Ireland, the Government’s Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness, is designed to increase the delivery of housing across all tenures to help individuals and families meet their housing needs. The plan focuses on increasing the delivery of social housing, with a target of delivering 50,000 social housing homes in the period to 2021, while also making the best use of existing stock and laying the foundations for a more vibrant housing sector.

The Government is committed to ensuring that families experiencing homelessness receive the best possible supports until they can secure a home. In this regard, Budget 2019 provided an allocation of €146m, an increase of over 25% on the 2018 allocation, for the provision of homeless services by local authorities. Families experiencing homelessness are supported by the local authorities and their service delivery partners to exit homelessness into an independent tenancy, whether it be in a local authority property or a HAP supported tenancy in the private rental sector. In 2018, the HAP Placefinder service was made available to all local authorities to support households to identify and secure a tenancy in the private rented sector. My Department has approved funding for 22 Placefinder officers nationally.

In 2018, my Department provided €48.5m in capital funding to the local authorities for the provision of emergency accommodation. This funding has facilitated the provision of family hubs to provide appropriate accommodation for families experiencing homelessness. Family hubs provide a greater level of stability than is possible in hotel accommodation, with the capacity to provide cooking and laundry facilities and recreation space. Crucially, families transition more quickly through hubs and into tenancies than is the case in other types of emergency accommodation. This is as a result of the more intensive engagement with local services that is possible in hubs, including engagement with the HAP Placefinder service. My Department is working with the local authorities on the delivery of further family hubs in 2019.