Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 September 2026
104. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department have provided advice to local authorities to limit the provision of emergency accommodation to those not in full time employment. [69317/26]
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. 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.
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. Any household assessed as homeless may be placed into homeless accommodation. This applies to all households regardless of their employment status.
My Department has not issued advice to local authorities in relation to limiting the provision of homeless accommodation to those in full time employment.
