Minister to face grilling after reports shed new light on homeless figures
The Housing Minister will face a grilling from the Housing Committee later today.
Eoghan Murphy is due to appear before TDs and senators on issues surrounding the latest homeless figures.
A new report by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive suggests that 19% of social housing offers were rejected last year.
Among the reasons given were unsuitable location and distance from schools.
The report also identifies problems with the take up of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme.
More than 300 families opted to enter emergency accommodation rather than using the HAP scheme to find housing in the private rental sector.
The minister will also be quizzed about the reclassifications of people on homeless lists after the release of another report yesterday prepared by the Inter-Agency Group on Homelessness.
Commenting on the release of the two reports, Mr Muphy said: "Clearly, new actions will be needed to make sure that we can find sustainable and successful exits from emergency accommodation for families, individuals, those with long-term support needs, and those whose status in Ireland is uncertain.
"Homeless services are perceived by many to be a catch-all solution that provides accommodation and support for vulnerable people, many with different and challenging needs that require more complex solutions. "
"Homeless services aren’t necessarily the best solution for these people, and that is why the Inter-Agency Group has been looking at this matter in more depth, to see how we can better care for our more vulnerable citizens."
