Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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107. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the action he will take to end child homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35890/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Addressing homelessness is a priority for this Government. The Programme for Government includes a number of commitments to address homelessness, including ensuring that there is sufficient emergency accommodation for those who require it with special supports for children impacted by homelessness. Funding of €303 million is available for the delivery of homeless services in 2025. 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 local authorities in addressing homelessness at a local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless accommodation and related services rests with individual local authorities.

Key to addressing homelessness is increasing the supply of housing. Government is committed to increasing supply with a record level of €6.8 billion in capital funding being made available for the delivery of housing in 2025. A key focus of this capital investment is on the delivery of social homes, with almost €2.4 billion in Exchequer funding available to support social housing delivery in 2025, including 10,000 new build social homes. The capital provision is supplemented by a further €1.65 billion in current funding to address housing need. This will allow us to build on the more than 10,500 new social homes which were delivered in 2024, through build, acquisition and leasing, including 7,871 new-build homes. Including HAP and RAS, 20,292 social housing solutions were delivered throughout 2024. Government remains fully committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver social, affordable and cost rental homes at scale and to continue accelerating housing supply across all tenures.

The budget for homeless services for 2025 supports the provision of emergency accommodation and wraparound supports. In addition, capital funding of €25m will support the delivery of high quality transitional and emergency accommodation for households experiencing homelessness. The budget also supports the ongoing operation of 36 family hubs across the country. While hubs are emergency accommodation, they provide a greater level of stability than is possible in emergency hotel accommodation, with the capacity to provide appropriate play-space, cooking and laundry facilities, and communal recreation space, while move-on options to homes are identified and secured. More intensive assistance in terms of welfare, health and housing services are also supplied through family hubs. Supports are also provided to families in Private Emergency Accommodation, with housing advice and social support being provided by local authorities and their NGO partners as well as in-reach support from HSE and Tusla. A key focus of local authorities and their service delivery partners is to support households experiencing homelessness to exit emergency accommodation to a tenancy.

The Programme for Government also commits to ensuring a holistic, cross departmental approach to homelessness prevention and focussing social housing allocations on getting families out of long-term homelessness. My Department is currently drafting a new Housing Plan which will include specific measures to address child and family homelessness.