Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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1132. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of persons and families accessing emergency accommodation in counties Longford and Westmeath; the number of people that were turned away from emergency accommodation in 2024 and to date in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44858/25]

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.

While responsibility for the provision of homeless accommodation and related services rests with individual housing authorities, the administration of homeless services is organised on a regional basis with a lead authority in place for each region. The Midlands region includes Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath County Councils, for the purposes of homeless administration, with Westmeath County Council as lead authority.

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/.

My Department does not hold any information in relation to individuals that are not provided with emergency accommodation. This information may be available from Longford and Westmeath County Councils.