Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 May 2026
547. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department engages with the Department of Justice, Home Affair and Migration, to align data on homelessness and international protection applicants, including shared datasets or reporting mechanisms; and if so, to outline the structure of that coordination; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33253/26]
View answerMy 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 engages with the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in relation to homelessness and migration. My Department and the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration have been meeting bilaterally in relation to addressing the risk of homelessness for those leaving Direct Provision with status. As part of this engagement, my Department has issued an updated Guidance Note for local authority practitioners in relation to the social housing application process. There has also been a focus on the potential to share data between relevant areas of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (IPAS, Family Reunification, and Immigration Units) and local authorities to allow information to be shared directly in relation to households in Direct Provision with status (International Protection or Subsidiary Protection). Such data sharing is aimed at preventing households in Direct Provision from becoming homeless.
In addition, the National Homeless Action Committee (NHAC), which I chair, is a cross-governmental and inter-agency oversight group with membership drawn from key Departments, agencies and stakeholders, including representatives from the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS).
The overarching objective of NHAC is to ensure that a renewed emphasis is brought to collaborating across Government, along with bringing better coherence and coordination of homeless-related services in delivering policy measures and actions to address homelessness. Beyond this, the Committee also has a role in addressing emerging homeless-related issues and in developing further responses. Full membership as well as previous minutes of meetings of NHAC are published on my Department's website and can be found at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/publications/national-homeless-action-committee/.
