Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

331. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of housing first tenancies delivered in 2020; and the target number of housing first tenancies for 2021. [3993/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Housing First enables homeless individuals with high levels of complex needs to obtain permanent secure accommodation with the provision of intensive housing and health supports to help them maintain their tenancies.

The National Implementation Plan for Housing First, published in September 2018, which puts the programme on a national footing, is designed to provide this response, by delivering permanent housing solutions and associated supports for rough sleepers and long-term users of emergency accommodation. It extends the delivery of Housing First nationally, with the introduction of targets for each local authority. The Plan includes an overall target of 663 tenancies in the period 2018-2021 including 220 tenancies in 2021. The implementation of the Plan is a joint initiative of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Department of Health, the HSE and the local authorities.

In line with the National Implementation Plan, Housing First is being delivered on a regional basis by the local authorities and the HSE. Contracts for the delivery of services have been put in place in each of the nine regions responsible for the delivery of homeless services with tenancies now in place in every region.

As of Q3 2020 a total of 459 individuals are being housed under the Housing First programme including 142 individuals who have been housed in 2020. Complete end of year data for the Programme will be published by my Department at the end of January 2021, as part of the Q4 2020 Homeless Progress Report.

The regional targets contained in the Plan were agreed by local authorities based on a review of homelessness data and a national survey of the support needs of homeless individuals conducted with service providers. In this regard, it is important to note that the majority of individuals in emergency accommodation do not require the level of supports provided by Housing First.

The Programme for Government commits to an expansion of the Housing First targets. Research is being undertaken by the Housing Agency to carry out an assessment of need for the supports provided by Housing First which is being used to inform the expansion of the Programme. I expect this work to be complete and to be in a position to announce an expansion of the Programme during 2021.