Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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1183. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will outline the current policy and guidelines for local authorities in prioritising housing allocations for individuals and families experiencing harassment or domestic abuse, including where the harassment involves repeated Garda welfare checks found to be unfounded; the measures in place to ensure such cases are treated as urgent; and the number of households currently in emergency accommodation for these reasons, in each local authority, in tabular form. [45412/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The allocation of social housing support to qualified households, including the prioritisation of certain categories of households, is a matter for the local authority concerned, in accordance with its allocation scheme made in accordance with Section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated Social Housing Allocation Regulations 2011, as amended. This legislation requires all local authorities, as a reserved function, to make an allocation scheme which specifies, among other things, the manner of, and the order of priority for, the allocation of dwellings to households on the housing and transfer lists.  

In their allocation schemes, local authorities may prioritise certain classes of households for allocation on the basis of their need. An allocation scheme may also contain provisions for exceptional or emergency cases, allowing immediate housing outside of normal waiting list priorities, should circumstances warrant it. Decisions on the allocation of social housing support are a matter solely for the local authority concerned.

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.

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 & 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 & Digitalisation open data portal .

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/. This link also includes 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.