Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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272. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason there has been no annual reports produced by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, DRHE since 2016; if the practice of producing annual reports will be reintroduced; the level of accountability his Department requires of the DRHE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5263/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department's role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level.  Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless services rests with individual housing authorities. Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988 sets out the purposes for which costs may be incurred by housing authorities in respect of the provision of homeless accommodation and related services.

The operation of homeless accommodation services are a matter for individual housing authorities in consultation with the Management Group of the relevant regional joint Homelessness Consultative Forum, performed in accordance with Chapter 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2009.

While responsibility for the provision of accommodation for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities, the administration of homeless services is organised on a regional basis, with nine administrative regions in place.  In respect of the Dublin Region, Dublin City Council is the regional lead authority.  The Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) is operated by Dublin City Council and adopts a shared service approach across South Dublin County Council, Fingal County Council and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.  The DRHE provide for the operational co-ordination of homeless accommodation and related services across the region on behalf of the four Dublin authorities. 

Local authorities are subject to their own statutory governance requirements in respect of the performance of their functions and the publication of an annual report.

In respect of my Department's role, financial reports from each region, including the DRHE, setting out total expenditure on homeless services including those services provided through the non-government sector and private emergency accommodation are published on my Department’s website at the following link; . Financial reports for 2020 are currently being examined and will be published shortly.