Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 May 2026
549. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department maintains a forward projection or demand model for emergency accommodation needs; if so, the assumptions underpinning that model, including population growth and migration-related factors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33266/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department's role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at a local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless services rests with individual housing authorities.
A homelessness consultative forum has been established in each of the nine homeless regions in accordance with Chapter 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2009. Decisions on the type and number of emergency accommodation services and related services, and the funding required in each region are a matter for individual housing authorities in consultation with the Management Group of the relevant regional joint Homelessness Consultative Forum.
It is a matter for the Management Group to bring forward proposals to my Department that meet the needs of homeless individuals in their administrative area and the funding requirements will be considered in this context. Each region submits an annual expenditure programme to my Department and my Department approves a funding allocation. My Department regularly engages with local authorities in relation to the demand for, and funding requirements of, homeless services and local authorities can submit new proposals to meet the demand for services at any stage during the year.
In relation to forward projection or demand models, 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.
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/.
