Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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936. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if Exchequer funding for the Housing First scheme is separate to the acquisitions funding announced March 2025; the amount of funding allocated to Housing First in 2025; and the reason his Department is preventing approved housing bodies from utilising capital assistance leasing funding for Housing first Acquisitions. [12125/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Housing First approach to addressing homelessness places direct access to housing first and foremost for vulnerable individuals using homeless services consistently or intermittently over long periods of time, and those unable or resistant to accessing homeless services and who may then become habitual rough sleepers. These individuals often have complex high support needs such as mental or physical health problems, addiction issues or dual diagnosis (the presence of mental ill health and a substance addiction). In 2024, my Department recouped €6.6m to local authorities for the operational costs related to the delivery of Housing First, the Department will continue to provide operational funding to local authorities for Housing First in 2025.

Local authorities and their service delivery partners work closely with all households in emergency accommodation to support them to secure an exit to a tenancy. If a household meets the eligibility and need criteria for social housing supports, it qualifies for the suite of social housing supports, and is placed on the housing list to be considered for the allocation of suitable tenancies in accordance with the authority’s allocation scheme. A proportion of these properties are allocated to homeless individuals, some of which will be allocated under the Housing First programme.

Housing Circular 06/2024 of 15 March 2024 set out arrangements for social housing acquisitions for 2024. This Circular states that Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) funding will support acquisitions of properties for homeless households by Approved Housing Bodies and SHIP funding will support acquisitions by local authorities, with Housing First one of the a priority for such funding.

The circular also states that in certain circumstances where it has been evidenced that acquisitions through other funding streams are not viable, there will be limited funding available through CALF to cover tenant-in-situ acquisitions involving multi-unit properties only.

A new Housing Circular setting our arrangements for social housing acquisitions in 2025 is currently under preparation and will issue in due course. It is intended that Housing First will again be included as a priority category in the new circular.

The Housing Agency Acquisition Fund will support the continued expansion of the programme by supporting local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies in acquiring one-beds properties.