Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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1121. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will consider directing local authorities to systematically collate and publish data on the number of families presenting with a housing need as a result of domestic violence; if he will ensure that women and children residing in domestic violence refuges are formally recognised as homeless and included in the national homeless statistics; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44648/25]

James Browne (Wexford, 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 local authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual local authorities.

Under the Housing Act 1988 it is a matter for each local authority to determine whether a person is regarded as homeless; section 2 of the Act sets out the requirements in this regard. When a household has been assessed as homeless, section 10 of the Housing Act 1988 provides that a local authority may provide accommodation and related services to that household. 

Local authorities also assess applications for social housing supports, ensuring housing supports are available to households unable to meet their accommodation needs from their own resources.

My Department currently gathers and publishes data on a monthly basis on the number of homeless persons accommodated in emergency accommodation funded and overseen by local authorities. These reports are based on data provided by local authorities, produced through the Pathway Accommodation and Support System (PASS). 

The monthly homelessness report includes details of individuals, families and the dependants of these families who accessed emergency accommodation during the relevant count week of the month in question. The most recently published data is in respect of July 2025. The reports are collated on a regional basis and are available on my Department's website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/collections/homelessness-data/ and are also published to the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitisation open data portal data.gov.ie/.

These reports do not capture details of individuals utilising temporary accommodation that is not overseen by local authorities, such as clients of domestic violence refuges. The operation of refuges is under the remit of Cuan, the State Agency for Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence (DSGBV), under the remit of the Department of Justice. The provision of accommodation in refuges is distinct from homeless emergency accommodation and as such, individuals in refuges are not included in the statistics prepared by my Department. 

However, my Department also publishes quarterly progress reports which are based on quarterly performance reports submitted by the nine regional lead authorities responsible for the administration of homeless services at local level. These quarterly performance reports include information on presentations to homeless services by new single adult and family households who entered emergency accommodation. The quarterly progress report summarises the data submitted to the Department. 

Since Q2 2023, local authorities have been reporting the reasons for presentations by single adult and family households who newly enter emergency accommodation. A category for ‘Domestic Violence’ as a household reason for presenting and entering emergency accommodation was added in Q1 2024 and ‘Leaving an Institution’ (which includes Care/Hospital/Prison/Refuge) was added in Q3 2024.

The most recent published data is in respect of Q2 2025 and the progress report is available on my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/collections/homelessness-data/. At this link you will find the individual regional quarterly performance reports that includes details of the reasons for presentations to homeless services by new single adult and family households who entered emergency accommodation, the most recent published data is in respect of Q1 2025.