Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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297. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the areas that he expects the €20 million in additional current expenditure for homeless services will be spent on. [48304/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department's role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at a local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless services rests with individual housing authorities.

While responsibility for the provision of accommodation for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities, the administration of homeless services is organised on a regional basis, with nine administrative regions in place. A homelessness consultative forum has been established in each region in accordance with Chapter 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2009. It is a matter for the management group of the consultative forum, in the first instance, to determine the services and the funding required to address homelessness in each region.

Budget 2023 makes provision for €215m in funding for homeless services, an increase from €194 in 2022. The extra funding for Homelessness reflects the priority that this Government is giving to Homelessness.

The extra funding will allow local authorities to continue to focus on preventing homelessness in the first instance, aid in the further expansion of the Housing First approach in line with commitments made in Housing for All, provide for a planned extension of outreach and intensive engagement services to our most vulnerable and provide accommodation to those experiencing homelessness. Additionally there remains a firm focus on ensuring that pathways out of homelessness for those individuals and families in emergency accommodation are secured as quickly as possible.