Tuesday, 26 May 2026

Emergency Accommodation

Questions (664, 666, 668, 672)

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

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]

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Ken O'Flynn

Question:

666. 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]

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Ken O'Flynn

Question:

668. 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]

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Ken O'Flynn

Question:

672. 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]

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Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

I 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.

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/

Housing Policy

As part of the broader body of work undertaken to inform the First Revision to the NPF, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) was engaged to provide updated population projections to 2040, based on demographic and econometric modelling, and having regard to the results of Census 2022 and other factors with potential to influence fertility, mortality and migration trends. Under the baseline scenario, the research projects that the population of the State will increase to approximately 5.7 million people by 2030 and 6.1 million by 2040. This projection forms the central core trajectory of projected population growth and underpins the strategy set out in the First Revision to the NPF.

The Government's new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, seeks to significantly accelerate delivery of new homes by focusing on activating land and creating the optimal environment to encourage housing activity. This includes regulatory reform, tax incentives and the largest ever capital investment in the history of the State, with €275 billion to be invested in infrastructure over ten years through the National Development Plan. Delivering Homes, Building Communities sets a target of at least 300,000 homes to be delivered over its lifetime, which is based on a realistic, broad assessment of the housing system, including factors such as migration.

The Housing Needs and Demand Assessment (HNDA) Tool is a tool for the policy, strategic and statistical analysis of a local authority’s housing need and expected demand, allowing the authority to estimate the long term housing demand across tenures to better inform individual housing strategies and in providing an evidence base to support decisions regarding local housing output. This Tool allows local authorities to project emerging household demand in their area in a manner that is designed to be aligned with the NPF and Delivering Homes, Building Communities, while assisting each Local Authority in the development of their Housing Delivery Action Plan.

With regard to monitoring homelessness data and trends, 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.

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 at 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 monthly homelessness reports and the quarterly performance 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.

My Department is also working collaboratively with a wide range of other Government departments, led by the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, to develop a National Migration and Integration Strategy detailing how Government intends to meet the demands and the opportunities facing Ireland’s society and economy over the next decade with the aim to publish Ireland’s first overarching whole-of-government National Migration and Integration Strategy later this year.

Question No. 666 answered with Question No. 664.

Question No. 667 answered with Question No. 665.

Question No. 668 answered with Question No. 664.

Question No. 669 answered with Question No. 665.

Question No. 670 answered with Question No. 665.

Homeless Accommodation

Questions (671)

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

671. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department collects, analyses or publishes homelessness presentation data by immigration, residency or citizenship status. [38875/26]

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Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual local authorities. Decisions on the assessment of households for homeless services, the most appropriate form of such support, and the allocation of that support are a matter for the local authority concerned.

My Department currently gathers and publishes data on a monthly basis on the number of homeless persons accommodated in homeless 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 single integrated national data information system on State-funded homeless emergency accommodation arrangements overseen by local authorities.

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 March 2026. 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 Digitalisation's open data portal https://data.gov.ie/.

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 in the monthly homelessness report 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. These quarterly performance reports include details of the numbers of individuals prevented from entering emergency accommodation, and those exiting emergency accommodation into tenancies and the duration of stay in emergency accommodation. The quarterly progress report summarises the data submitted to the Department.

Neither the monthly or quarterly reports include data on the immigration or residency status of individuals in homeless emergency accommodation.

Question No. 672 answered with Question No. 664.

Housing Schemes

Questions (673)

Cian O'Callaghan

Question:

673. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to examine an individual's eligibility (details supplied) for the affordable purchase scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38918/26]

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Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Government is acutely aware of the housing challenges faced by many sectors of society. Ireland's new housing plan Delivering Homes, Building Communities, contains a suite of actions that have and continue to increase the provision of housing through accelerating supply and increasing the affordability of homes for our citizens.

Information and guidance on affordable housing supports currently in place for First Time Buyers, fresh starters and other eligible applicants is available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/0d279-doors-open/. A number of these schemes can be combined, thereby providing additional affordability support.

A Fresh Start principle applies to a number of schemes offered to homebuyers including the Local Authority Home Loan, Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan, the First Home Scheme and the Starter Home Purchase Schemes. The Fresh Start principle under Section 10(6) of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 allows certain purchasers to be treated as First Time Buyers and be eligible to apply for the purchase of an affordable home. It states that where a person previously owned, was beneficially entitled to, or had an interest in a dwelling in the State and that this dwelling, because of its size, is not suited to the current accommodation needs of their household, that person is still eligible to apply.

Affordable dwellings offered through the Starter Home Purchase scheme uses an equity share model to give eligible purchasers the opportunity of home ownership at a significant discount. The assessment of eligibility and the level of support available is household-specific, so purchasers are only supported when they need this assistance to afford the home. In some cases, applicants who have been through Fresh Start events, may be able to use the Fresh Start provision to be eligible for an affordable purchase home. They will need to have sold or divested themselves of their previous homes and meet the eligibility criteria for each scheme.

Housing Provision

Questions (674)

Carol Nolan

Question:

674. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of vacant local authority homes currently boarded up or awaiting refurbishment across all county councils; the average time such properties remain vacant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38954/26]

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Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The management and maintenance of local authority social homes, including pre-letting repairs and the re-tenanting of vacant properties, is a matter for each individual local authority under s.58 of the Housing Act 1966. Local authorities must also ensure all tenanted properties comply with the provisions of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019. To this end, local authority elected members and officials must make adequate budgetary provision for housing repairs and cyclical maintenance utilising the significant housing rental income available to them as part of the annual budgetary process.

Notwithstanding, my Department will provide some €260 million as a contribution towards the remediation and maintenance of local authority homes through various funding programmes in 2026, with €40 million alone allocated to a revised Planned Maintenance and Voids Programme to specifically support the efficient turnaround of casually vacant homes by local authorities.

Data on delivery under the programme between 2014 and 2025 are available on my Department's website at www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/collections/other-local-authority-housing-scheme-statistics/#voids-programme.

Work in relation to the 2026 programme is ongoing and data in relation to delivery will be published early in 2027.

Data on the quantum of social homes vacant at a moment in time, the length of time they've been vacant, the reasons they're vacant, and the steps being taken to bring them back to productive use, are a matter solely for local authorities and should be sought directly from them.

That said, data on the management of social homes are published by the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) in its Annual Reports on Performance Indicators in Local Authorities. These reports provide a range of information in relation to social housing stock, including levels of vacancy and average turnaround times in local authority owned properties.

The most recent NOAC report for 2024 is available at www.noac.ie/noac_publications/report-77-noac-performance-indicator-report-2024/.

Vacant Properties

Questions (675)

Eoin Ó Broin

Question:

675. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to list the Statutory Instruments, circulars or other guidance notes underpinning the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant since its introduction in 2022 to date; and if this Deputy will be provided with copies of each. [39046/26]

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Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, funded under the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund, was introduced on an administrative basis, as a pathfinder scheme in 2022. Since its introduction, the grant scheme has been a key measure in addressing vacancy and dereliction across the country. At end of Quarter 1, 2026 over 17,480 applications had been made to local authorities, with over 13,170 of those applications approved and 5,300 grant paid amounting to almost €285 million of grant funding paid out across the county.

The Grant provides up to €50,000 for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence and for properties which will be made available for rent. A top-up grant of up to €20,000 is available where the property is derelict, bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €70,000.

All published grant documents can be found at the link here: Bring a Vacant or Derelict Property Back into Use, www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/campaigns/bring-a-vacant-or-derelict-property-back-into-use/ which includes scheme outlines, application forms and frequently asked questions. The grant is delivered by local authorities who assess and decide on applications and issue grant payments. Support is provided to local authorities in their administration of the grant by the Vacant Homes Unit in my Department and by the Property Optimisation Unit in the Housing Agency.

My Department will forward Circulars issued on the grant directly to the Deputy.

Question No. 676 answered with Question No. 665.

Question No. 677 answered with Question No. 665.

Question No. 678 answered with Question No. 665.

Question No. 679 answered with Question No. 665.

Question No. 680 answered with Question No. 665.

Question No. 681 answered with Question No. 665.

Question No. 682 answered with Question No. 665.

Question No. 683 answered with Question No. 665.

Question No. 684 answered with Question No. 665.

Question No. 685 answered with Question No. 665.

Housing Policy

Questions (686)

Mark Wall

Question:

686. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to allow those in approved housing bodies to purchase their homes, considering some are now over 30 years in these accommodations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39087/26]

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Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) (also called housing associations or voluntary housing associations) are independent, not-for-profit organisations. They provide affordable rented housing for people who cannot afford to pay private sector rents or buy their own homes; or for particular groups, such as older people or homeless people.

Under the terms of the various Departmental funding schemes supporting the delivery of social housing by AHBs, AHBs are the legal owners of the properties and must make them available for social renting for the duration of the mortgage / the availability agreement. Subsequent to the completion of the terms and conditions of any State funding, the AHB is the sole owner of a property.

AHBs are not generally precluded by legislation from selling properties to tenants on completion of the funding terms, but any sale of an AHB property must be in compliance with their Memorandum and Articles of Association. Further, as not-for-profit organisations, AHBs are limited in their ability to sell any property on the open market at a value which is less than the market value of the property and AHBs should engage with the Charities Regulator on any disposal of assets.

Tenant Purchase Schemes provide for the purchase by eligible tenants of local authority properties which are available for sale under the terms of the particular scheme. All applications for the schemes must satisfy the requirements outlined in the relevant legislation. However, the schemes only provide for the purchase of local authority properties and do not extend to properties legally owned by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). My Department monitors schemes on an ongoing basis to ensure that they remain effective and sustainable. However, consideration is not being given to extending the tenant purchase schemes for the reasons above.

Questions Nos. 687 to 690, inclusive, answered with Question No. 660.