Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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233. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason he believes he can credibly claim that its housing strategy is working when homelessness and emergency accommodation figures, particularly among children, are at a record high; and the specific trigger points and corrective mechanisms are in place to adjust policy if these outcomes continue to worsen. [53948/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Supporting individuals and families experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness is a priority for my Department and Government.

Increased supply is key to addressing homelessness, meeting need and addressing the challenges in the housing market. Government is 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.

We are delivering the largest social housing build since the 1970s. Housing supply has increased significantly since the publication of Housing for All in 2021. In particular, 32,787 social homes have been delivered through Build, Acquisition and Leasing schemes from 2022 to 2024. This increased supply of social housing is supporting the increased allocation of homes to households on the social housing waiting list, including households in emergency accommodation. The number of households in emergency accommodation is unacceptably high and accelerating exits is a priority.

Budget 2026 has continued the record level of investment in social housing, with €2.9bn in capital allocated to support the delivery of social homes by local authorities. This continued investment in the social housing programme will increase the supply of stock available to allocate to households on the social housing waiting list, including households in emergency accommodation. It is important that local authorities ensure that sufficient allocations are being made to families in emergency accommodation and a key focus for me is to reduce the time that families are spending in emergency accommodation.

Ensuring that families and children experiencing homelessness are supported with accommodation and supports is critical. Budget 2026 provides an allocation of €513.5m to provide homeless emergency accommodation and supports. Capital funding of €50m has been allocated to support the provision of quality emergency and transitional accommodation.

The Government's new Housing Plan will be published shortly. The Plan will contain a suite of robust and targeted actions that will increase the provision of housing through accelerating supply and increasing the affordability of homes for our citizens. The Plan will also include a range of measures to address homelessness and reaffirm Programme for Government commitments including the commitment to develop a holistic, cross departmental approach to homelessness prevention and the commitment to ensure special supports for children impacted by homelessness.