We are fully committed to tackling homelessness - Kelly

Issued : Thursday 25 September, 2014

Speaking at the opening of the Focus Ireland Policy Conference “Where do we go from here” - Aviva Conference Centre, Dublin

I am pleased to be here this morning to open the Focus Ireland Policy Conference on eliminating the risk of homelessness for people who leave institutional settings where they have lived under the care of the State. Many of them are especially vulnerable to falling into homeless and it is good that you have brought together today panels of distinguished experts to focus on ways of avoiding such an unwelcome outcome.

Later, I will touch on an element of our homelessness policy that is orientated towards dealing with that specific issue, but first I think it is worth making some general comments on the issue of homelessness and how we are responding to it and, indeed, how we intend to intensify our response.

Government policy on Homelessness Policy
The Government is fully committed to tackling the issue of homelessness. In February 2013, we published our Homelessness Policy Statement in which we outlined the Government's aim to end long-term homelessness by the end of 2016.

The Statement emphasises a housing-led approach that makes accessing permanent housing the primary response to all forms of homelessness. The availability and supply of secure, affordable and adequate housing is essential in ensuring sustainable tenancies and ending long-term homelessness.

The broader supply of housing will be addressed in the short to medium term by the actions being progressed in the Construction 2020 Strategy as well as in the Social Housing Strategy which I will publish shortly. That Strategy will put in place a framework to achieve a significant increase in the supply of new social homes.
As a first step, a return to mainstream local authority housing construction was announced earlier this year, with €68 million to be provided over 2014/2015, which will enable local authorities to construct approximately 450 new social homes.

I see this as a rolling programme of local authority house construction. I hope to add to the programme in 2015 by announcing a further tranche of new housing starts.

In May, details were announced of capital investment totalling over €46 million for a range of housing projects. This investment will provide 416 units of accommodation for people with special housing needs. Of the €46 million, some €19 million has been ring-fenced for the delivery of 187 units to be acquired or constructed in the local authority areas across the country to specifically accommodate persons and families who are homeless. €10 million is been provided for the acquisition of 66 units by approved housing bodies to address the homeless problem specifically in the Dublin City area. The balance of the €46 million, around €16.7 million, will fund the delivery of 163 units to accommodate people with a disability and older persons in various locations around the country.

The housing-led policy adopted by the Government places the provision of appropriate accommodation as the key solution to ending long-term homelessness. It does, nonetheless, represent a challenging prospect when the supply of available housing is constrained.

Regrettably, We are dealing with the legacy of a failed policy of relying on the private sector to deliver our social housing needs. The previous developer-led policies will become a thing of the past and housing developments of the future will be focussed on people and communities, as opposed to greed.

Our plans are about enriching communities as opposed to developers.
The total housing allocation from my Department for 2014 will result in an investment of some €647 million on a range of programmes. That represents over 70% of the entire budget for my Department.

In all, I expect that over 6,000 social housing units will be provided through leasing and existing capital programmes this year. My Department is committed to continuing to develop innovative and sustainable approaches to the provision of social housing. Every available, appropriate unit needs to be transformed into a home as quickly as reasonably possible.

The level of funding available to housing authorities in 2015 for housing programmes - including homelessness - is currently being considered in the context of the Estimates process. Bearing in mind the competing budgetary demands, I am working with my colleagues in Government to ensure that appropriate funding continues to be provided to tackle homelessness. As the economy starts to recover, I believe it is important that the people who suffered most in the downturn must be towards the top of our priorities for remedial responses.

Implementation Plan on the State's Response to Homelessness
In May last, the Government approved the Implementation Plan on the State's Response to Homelessness, which outlines how the objective of ending involuntary long-term homelessness can be achieved. It is about ending homelessness for people who are long-term homeless; that is, people who are in emergency accommodation for a period of longer than 6 months on a consecutive basis or those in emergency accommodation for a period of more than 6 months on a non-consecutive basis in the previous 12 month period.

The plan is a practically focused delivery plan which contains 80 actions that are direct, immediate and solutions based and which contribute to the delivery of a ring-fenced supply of 2,700 units of accommodation between 2014 and the end of 2016.
This plan was developed by a team of senior officials from my Department, the Department of Social Protection, housing authorities and the HSE. Implementing the plan requires a whole-of-Government approach to addressing homelessness.
It will be no small undertaking to achieve the 2016 target for ending involuntary long-term homelessness. However, I believe that this target is achievable and I am committed to doing everything that I can to ensure that we deliver. But to achieve this ambitious goal, it is necessary for housing authorities and the non-governmental sector to work closely together in a constructive manner.

I am acutely aware of the demands for services and the cost of delivering them. This makes it all the more important that effective strategies are used to prevent homelessness and that people are moved out of homelessness and into independent living as quickly as possible.

Measures to Prevent Homelessness
Prevention measures most certainly are a key part of the overall response to homelessness. I think this is especially true at this moment in time when we are seeing an escalating number of families becoming homeless.

A new homelessness prevention campaign was recently initiated in the Dublin Region to support families at risk of losing tenancies in the private rented sector. This campaign includes a public awareness campaign to highlight tenants’ rights and also the availability of supports. The campaign includes tenancy sustainment supports delivered through a partnership of housing authorities, the Department of Social Protection and the NGO sector. Reports to date indicate that this campaign is having a positive effect and it is preventing households from becoming homeless.

Policies and actions targeted at preventing people entering homelessness in the first instance are not only better for the individual they also represent a more effective response from the State than the provision of emergency services.

It is often difficult for those leaving an institutional setting to re-connect within the community – a period of homelessness will only further marginalise these individuals from society.

Therefore, appropriate measures must be pursued to ensure that they have a suitable place to live with the necessary supports to achieve independent living.
In this context my own Department has been working closely with Tusla - the Child and Family Agency, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and housing authorities to develop a protocol about accommodation arrangements and support needs of young people leaving State care.

I understand that a draft protocol issued to a number of key stakeholders for consultation recently and the views received are under consideration. I expect the finalised protocol to issue shortly. This protocol will clarify the roles of Tusla and housing authorities and it will outline the practical steps involved in assessing a young person leaving State care as well as managing their needs with the ultimate objective of ensuring that the necessary measures are in place to prevent homelessness.

Looking to the Future
The voluntary sector plays a crucial role in achieving our goals. Focus Ireland are among the excellent providers of homeless services through this country.

I am conscious that your deliberations today will be focusing on key areas where the key State agencies and the NGO sector can come together to find more and better solutions to the risks of homelessness.

I want to thank you for organising this event. Innovation, research and information sharing are required at all levels to successfully address the issue of homelessness and conference such as this provide us with these opportunities.
Today’s conference has the potential to influence the creation of effective policy and to develop and strengthen prevention strategies. I will be very interested to hear about the outcome of today's event.