Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

627. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41928/19]

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

629. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41932/19]

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

630. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41933/19]

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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 627, 629 and 630 together.

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 and address homelessness. The plan focuses on increasing the delivery of social housing, with a target of delivering 50,000 social housing homes and 87,000 other social housing supports by 2021.  In 2018, 8,000 new social homes were delivered nationally and this year, a further 10,000 new social homes will be delivered.  The Plan also recognises the role of other State Agencies, including the Department of Health and HSE, in delivering services to those experiencing homelessness.  In September 2017, I established the Homelessness Inter-Agency Group to ensure the effective coordination of the State’s response to addressing homelessness.

In addition to increasing the supply of housing, we are also committed to ensuring that appropriate emergency accommodation is in place for individuals and families.  Budget 2020 provides an allocation of €166m for the delivery of homeless services next year, an increase of €20m on the 2019 allocation.  Homeless services are administered on a regional basis and the decisions on the organisation of services, including the provision of emergency accommodation, is a matter for the Management Group of each region.

To minimise the use of hotels and B&Bs for families experiencing homelessness, the Government is supporting local authorities to develop family hubs, through the provision of capital and operational funding. To date, 28 family hubs have been rolled out nationally. Households in emergency accommodation are supported by the local authorities and their service delivery partners to identify and secure an independent tenancy.

In September 2018, the Government published the National Implementation Plan for Housing First. Housing First provides homes for rough sleepers and long-term users of emergency accommodation who have complex health needs. Housing first tenants are provided with the necessary housing and health supports to ensure that they can sustain their tenancy. Local authorities are responsible for providing the housing supports and the HSE is responsible for providing the health supports. The Plan includes a target of 663 tenancies to be delivered by 2021.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

628. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41931/19]

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

My Department is currently developing a national policy approach to Cost Rental as a new form of tenure for Ireland.

Under the Cost Rental model, rents cover the cost of delivering, managing, and maintaining the homes only, less both the profit margin seen in the private rental sector and any financial supports provided by the State/local authorities. With the resulting rents significantly below market levels, this would mean that many households on moderate incomes will have access to a more affordable and stable form of rental tenure than would otherwise have been the case.

It is important to note that Cost Rental is not designed to replace social housing provision for low-income households, which remains a priority for this Government. Cost Rental is one of several schemes which my Department is using to provide more affordable housing and deliver on Rebuilding Ireland, the Government’s action plan for housing and homelessness.

I have convened a working group within my Department, in conjunction with the Land Development Agency, the Housing Agency, and other expert bodies. This group is developing the policy framework for the broader Cost Rental model and examining how a sustainable financing structure can be established to commence delivery of units at the scale required to get this new category of housing off the ground. The work of this group is being assisted by a consultancy and research support that is being undertaken by the European Investment Bank on our behalf.

This work is being informed through two Cost Rental pilot projects, at the former St. Michael's Estate in Inchicore, and at Enniskerry Road in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown. The latter of these has already commenced construction, supported by EIB funding, and the first homes are anticipated to come on stream from 2021. The selection of further sites for Cost Rental consideration will be informed largely by the financial and operational model that will emerge from the evidence building that is currently underway.

The rents for Cost Rental units will obviously depend upon the overall cost of each development and will vary according to the site and design specifics. However, my Department has identified several factors that can put downward pressure on costs and make Cost Rental more affordable for tenants. These include subvention through the Serviced Site Fund, where €310 million is being made available to local authorities over three years, 2019 to 2021, to support the delivery of infrastructure for the provision thereafter of more affordable housing to purchase or rent.