COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, April 08, 2019
QUESTION NO. 7
QUESTION: Councillor M. Johansson
To ask the Chief Executive how many families and individuals are currently homeless in South Dublin and how long on average families are spending in homelessness?
REPLY:
Details of the number of homeless applicants on the Council's housing list are as follows:
|
Homeless Applications |
Oct '18 |
Nov '18 |
Dec '18 |
Jan '19 |
Feb '19 |
|
Single Persons |
310 |
318 |
324 |
323 |
327 |
|
Couples/Families |
310 |
304 |
304 |
301 |
293 |
|
Total |
620 |
622 |
628 |
624 |
620 |
Fastest exits from homelessness and emergency accommodation can be achieved through sourcing private rented accommodation using the Housing Assistance Payment with the added assistance of Homeless HAP and support from the Council's place-finder service as well as other key workers/support agencies. Applicants taking this option still retain access to Choice Based Letting with the benefit of their accumulated waiting time on the social housing list intact.
As can be seen the numbers of homeless applications have remained constant with new presentations continuing to arise replacing those applicants that have exited homelessness through HAP placement or social home allocations. Continued emphasis on additional housing supply of all tenures in the County is essential to effect a decrease in both homeless and housing applicant numbers.
Currently, the actual average time on the housing list for homeless applicants is three and a quarter years of which their average time in homelessness is one year and eight months. This indicates that many housing applicants are presenting as homeless as they apply for housing which presents policy challenges and requires further examination of the circumstances causing such situations.
However, it should be noted that the length of time an applicant is on the housing list before an offer of social housing is made varies greatly and also depends on the availability of suitable properties, their engagement with CBL, the competing time on the list of other applicants and the applicant's time in emergency accommodation.