Local bodies must plan for homeless

LOCAL authorities will be legally obliged to come up with homeless action plans, as the Government’s homeless strategies are to be given a legal basis to ensure that the housing and support needs of people who are homeless are met.

Housing and Urban Renewal Minister Noel Ahern, said the recommendation, made in the independent review of the Government’s homeless strategies, had been accepted. However, legislation would be needed and that would be drawn up as soon as possible.

“We intend to make the making of homeless action plans a statutory duty,” Mr Ahern said at a press conference in the Custom House in Dublin yesterday.

The Simon Communities of Ireland have welcomed the commitment to put homeless plans on a legal footing, but have urged the Government to ensure the plans themselves are also on a legal basis so that the needs of people who are homeless are met in a timely fashion.

“Legally obliging local authorities to produce homeless action plans is a very positive move forward,” said Noeleen Hartigan, Simon spokeswoman. However, she stressed that, if the Government was truly committed to ending homelessness, it would ensure that the homeless action plans themselves had a solid legal status so that homeless people got the services to which they were entitled.

Simon, together with Focus Ireland, Society of St Vincent de Paul and Threshold, recommended a statutory basis for homeless action plans in 2002. This was based on an extensive analysis of the effectiveness of the plans at the time.

The €75,000 review by economic consultants Fitzpatrick Associates concentrates on adult homelessness and covers the implementation of Homeless: An Integrated strategy, launched in 2000 and the Homeless Preventative Strategy, published two years later.

The consultants found that little progress was made in ensuring that records were kept of the number of patients being discharged and the type of accommodation into which they were being discharged.

They also said a system should be set up to ensure that the discharge policies for homeless people are adequate and implemented effectively in mental health facilities and acute hospitals.

The consultants also pointed out that victims of domestic violence should be recognised as an at-risk target group and the National steering committee on Violence Against Women should consider having an expert working group to examine refuge provision and occupancy around the country.

Mr Ahern said the Government accepted the “broad thrust” of all the recommendations, particularly the priority areas identified by the consultants and intended taking them forward.

Fine Gael’s environment spokesman, Fergus O’Dowd, said it was disappointing that, even now the consultants needed to highlight the need for improved data on the homeless problem and the need for improved co-ordination between the department of the Environment and the Department of Health.