Browne’s homelessness plan leaves families without a deadline
Browne’s homelessness plan leaves families without a deadline - The Labour Party
Labour housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan TD has today called on Housing Minister James Browne to set clear targets for reducing child and family homelessness, publish the overdue homelessness prevention framework and fund measures to keep families in their homes. Responding to the Government’s Action Plan on Child and Family Homelessness, Deputy Sheehan said the plan leaves families without a timeline and does nothing to curb the State’s reliance on emergency accommodation.
Deputy Sheehan said:
“Government’s action plan sets no clear targets for reducing child and family homelessness. It points to a homelessness prevention framework that Ministers promised to publish by the end of June 2026. More than four months on, families are still waiting. In August, 5,830 children were living in emergency accommodation. Minister Browne needs to tell those families how many he expects to help into a secure home and when.
“Government is spending €449 million on emergency accommodation, around 90% of its homelessness budget. About 70% of emergency accommodation funding goes straight to private providers. This plan does nothing to reduce that dependence or shift spending towards permanent public housing. With private rents and emergency accommodation costs rising, Budget 2027 amounts to a cut in real terms. Without adequate funding, this plan will do little to shorten the time children spend in emergency accommodation.
“The Oireachtas Housing Committee published a report on homelessness last June recommending a ban on no-fault evictions among a range of measures. Where is the Government’s response to those recommendations? Every time a family loses their home because a landlord is selling, the State risks paying for another emergency placement that could have been prevented.
“Labour would put €500 million into the Tenant in Situ scheme so councils can buy homes where tenants are at risk of homelessness because their landlord is selling. Government must increase funding for that scheme and for Housing First, and invest in delivering more social and affordable homes.
“If Government is serious about tackling child and family homelessness, it should pass Labour’s Child and Family Homelessness Bill, first introduced in 2017, to give statutory protection to children and families experiencing homelessness.
“Minister Browne must publish the prevention framework now, give councils the funding to act and set quarterly targets for moving families into secure homes and cutting the time children spend in emergency accommodation. He should publish progress every quarter so families can see what his plan is delivering.”