Emergency accommodation in hotels

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the status of plans to examine and analyse the reason offers of accommodation are not taken up by households in emergency accommodation in hotels.

REPLY

Supporting families and individuals experiencing homelessness is a priority for this Government.  Local authorities and their service delivery partners work with households to identify and secure an exit from homelessness into an independent tenancy. Where appropriate, households are provided with the necessary supports to ensure that they are equipped to sustain a tenancy. 

Local authorities have reported incidences of households refusing offers of housing. Generally, the reasons for the refusal of an offer of a home relate to the location of the property or the tenure type.  In such instances, local authorities and their service delivery partners continue to work with the household to identify and secure a suitable home.  The introduction of the Homeless HAP Place Finder service on a national basis, in 2018, is assisting households to identify and secure HAP-supported tenancies in the private rented market. The Department has approved funding for 23 dedicated Place Finder Officers to work directly with families in this regard.