merrion street

Today Housing Minister Jan O’Sullivan set 2016 as the target for ending long-term homelessness. speaking at the launch of the Government’s Homelessness Policy Statement.

The Minister said:

Homelessness is an affront to every value that we assign to the concept of citizenship. In a real republic there is an onus on us all to ensure that all citizens have a place they can call home.

I am committed to ending long-term homelessness and today I am setting 2016 as the target date. Achieving this important goal in the year that marks the centenary of the 1916 Rising is something I would urge everyone to support.

The Homelessness Policy Statement also puts the "housing-led" philosophy at the centre of policy in this area.

Housing-led approachs to homelessness provide better outcomes for people. The idea behind the policy is that people are provided with long-term, stable housing as early as possible. It moves away from the traditional ‘staircase’ model which sees individuals and families move between various stages, including emergency accomodation, before eventually securing an appropriate place.

The housing-led approach has the capacity to assist people break the cycle of poverty and homelessness by providing them with stability and security. Providing them with additional support to sustain their tenancies is also a critical part of the approach. By moving away from over-reliance on expensive emergency accomodation the "housing-led" strategy can also provide better value for the significant amount of public money invested in homeless services.

Minister O’Sullivan also announced details of the oversight group that will review the progress achieved in tackling homelessness. The group consists of:

Mark Kennedy (Chair)

Sylda Langford

Tony Fahey

Minister O'Sullivan concluded

The dignity and equality of people has always been a fundamental political principle for me. I strive, in all my political activity, to have that principle at the heart of my thinking, and this is particularly true when dealing with homelessness. The challenge we have set in this Policy Statement is ambitious, and I look forward to working with all partners in the sector to ensuring that we achieve our goal.

Read the full press release here.