Minister refuses to guarantee fall in homeless numbers below 10,000 by end of year
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Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien has refused to guarantee that the number of homeless people in the State will fall below 10,000 by the end of the year.
Asked if he thought the number of homeless people would fall back below that milestone again by the end of the year, Mr O’Brien would not do so.
“I had flagged in advance of last Christmas that we would see a short-term rise in homelessness. My response to homelessness is not just on the emergency measures that we need to take, where we're providing nearly €200m,” he said.
“So I'm not going to get into trying to see when we will see that peak be reached,” he said, adding he is confident the steps being taken will have an impact. Mr O'Brien said nearly half of the 24,000 homes being delivered this year will be supported by the State.
Addressing concerns about the risk that construction inflation will jeopardise his Housing for All targets, Mr O’Brien said the State is intervening in a very direct manner to ensure delivery.
“We have over €2bn already of measures to try to soften the blow for households in relation to inflation costs,” he said.
He highlighted the 70:30 burden-sharing scheme introduced by Michael McGrath last month which will see the Government pay 70% of inflation-related construction costs on State projects.
Refusing to commit to further measures, Mr O’Brien said it is time to let the existing measures bed in and take hold.
He said the Government is on track to deliver affordable homes "at scale for the first time in nearly 15 years". Mr O'Brien added that progress is also being made in relation to the delivery of affordable rental units.
The country is grappling with a “very serious homelessness” crisis but local authorities are “well resourced” to find houses for people, he added.
Speaking after Clare TD Violet Anne Wynne declared that she and her family are “technically homeless”, Mr O’Brien said the main problem is a shortage of supply.
He said that while he was loath to comment on a specific case or an individual, councils are in a position to offer help.
“What I will say is that all our local authorities are resourced and are funded to provide the accommodation that's needed. There is no question that we are grappling with a very serious homelessness crisis right now. And fundamentally, that's down to a shortage of supply, not just last year or the year before, but over 10 years,” he said.
He said what is really important is that the State delivers more units like the 21-unit development he was opening in Ballinteer in Dublin and to be able to assist people.
He added that his job is to increase the output both in social affordable and private homes right across the country and to ensure that we're able to meet the demand that is there, by increasing our supply.