Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 May 2026
664. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the Department operates a formal forecasting model linking projected inward migration trends to projected emergency accommodation demand; and if he will provide details of this model. [38867/26]
View answer666. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the Department has undertaken any scenario modelling examining the impact of varying migration levels on homelessness presentations since 2020. [38869/26]
View answer668. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the Department has conducted any stress-testing of emergency accommodation capacity against projected migration scenarios since 2020. [38871/26]
View answer672. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether any assessment has been conducted regarding the impact of migration trends on regional emergency accommodation pressures in Cork, Dublin, Galway or Limerick since 2022; and if so, if he will provide details of the findings. [38876/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 664, 666, 668 and 672 together.
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.
Decisions on the range of homeless services and accommodation to be provided, the funding required for these services, and operational matters (including capacity) are matters for individual local authorities in consultation with the Statutory Management Group of the relevant Joint Homelessness Consultative Forum. It is a matter for each Statutory Management Group to bring forward proposals to my Department that meet the needs of homeless families and individuals in their respective administrative areas.
My Department has a number of measures in place to support the monitoring of trends, including those that are migration-related and to anticipate the future demand for homelessness accommodation.
My Department currently gathers and publishes data on a monthly basis that reports on the number of homeless persons accommodated in emergency accommodation funded and overseen by housing authorities. These reports are based on data provided by housing 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.
Since April 2022, my Department has gathered information from local authorities on citizenship of adults accessing emergency accommodation. The citizenship information is broken down by Irish, EEA/UK and Non-EEA and is available on a regional basis at the link above.
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. The quarterly performance reports provide regional data on the reasons for presentation of single and family households that presented and entered emergency accommodation as well as regional data on single and family household exits from emergency accommodation to a secure tenancy.
The monthly homelessness reports and the quarterly performance reports 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/.
The Department carefully monitors the data contained in the reports to identify trends and drivers of homelessness and uses this information to support informed policies and measures to address current and emerging needs. My Department takes account of the current costs, and forecasts the projected costs, arising from the provision of emergency accommodation and related services. As part of the budgetary process, my Department engages with the Department of Public Expenditure in relation to the budget required to meet future demands.
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. 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/
