HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY:THE GOVERNMENT has pledged that no homeless person will have to sleep rough or remain longer than six months in emergency accommodation within two years under its new strategy on tackling homelessness.
The Way Home: A Strategy to Address Adult Homelessness in Ireland 2008-2013 envisages a major shift away from emergency beds and towards long-term and mainstream housing.
It also promises to place greater emphasis on preventative measures, such as supporting at-risk groups, including young people leaving care, families in crisis and people with mental health problems.
However, a detailed implementation plan for the strategy will not be ready until December and there is no guarantee that funding needed to implement it will be available.
Launching the strategy yesterday, Minister of State with responsibility for Housing Michael Finneran said minimising homelessness in the first place was a core aim of the plan.
"It would not make sense to invest big efforts and resources on homeless services if we don't do enough to prevent homelessness occurring or recurring," he said.
He also said that a detailed value for money review was being carried out on homeless services in Dublin that would play a key role in deciding how money will be spent over the coming years.
"We would all be failing in our duty if we did not ask whether we can get a better return from these resources in meeting the needs of homeless people. It is the people affected by homelessness who have most to lose if we do not maximise value for money and efficiency in homeless services," he said.
He conceded that the current economic climate would make it more difficult to meet the aims of the plan, as well as factors such as a freeze in homeless funding which has been imposed by the Health Service Executive. This development meant that service providers have received the same amount of public funding this year as last year, despite higher operating costs.
"I'm the first to admit we have problems in regard to the care side of funding, namely the HSE. I have met with the Minister and with officials in the HSE and I am encouraged with the position of the Minister," Mr Finneran said.
"While we haven't reached final agreement on funding, I am finding a positive response."
The Minister said he intended to "put his case strongly" to the Government for sufficient funds to implement the strategy over the next four years.
"The success of the strategy will be determined primarily by the effectiveness of its implementation. I may have to battle for that funding with the Cabinet subcommittee on social inclusion," he said.
Just over €90 million is being provided this year for running costs of homeless services, €33 million of which comes from the HSE.
An estimated 5,000 people do not have a home, while 43,000 households remain on local authority housing lists. Agencies also estimated that 36,000 children live in families on social housing waiting lists.
Under the partnership agreement, the Government has committed to providing for the needs of 60,000 households between 2006 and 2009. Mr Finneran insisted yesterday the Government was on track to meeting this aim.