Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 May 2026
363. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether any guidance has been issued to local authorities regarding prioritisation, assessment or placement of persons transitioning from international protection accommodation into homeless services. [36246/26]
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 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 assessment of households for homeless services, the most appropriate form of such support, and the allocation of that support are matters for the local authority concerned.
Persons granted international protection status (refugee status or subsidiary protection status) can access State provided supports and services on the same basis as Irish nationals.
The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration have put arrangements in place to support households in Direct Provision with status to exit to alternative accommodation, with a number of NGOs contracted specifically to provide this support. Where the household is eligible for social housing supports, households are supported to apply for social housing where they are added to the social housing list in the relevant local authority. Eligible households can also access Homeless HAP which supports households to secure a tenancy in the private rental market.
My Department also 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.
Local authorities and their service delivery partners work closely with all households in need of emergency accommodation to provide appropriate emergency accommodation, and the ultimate aim is to support them to secure an exit to a tenancy.
