Minister for Housing James Browne has said he believes his new housing plan will reduce the homelessness figures.
The figures have been increasing steadily for months, repeatedly breaking emergency accommodation records.
Asked if the plan would bring the monthly homeless numbers down, he said: “I believe it will”, but he refused to be drawn on when they would begin to reduce, stating: “I’ve never gotten into the forecasting game, I’m always about results”.
“The only way to address homelessness in this country, the only way to address high rents, is by supply. It’s by getting more and more houses, more and more apartments delivered ... right across the country to give people the other homes that they need, and that will address the costs of our housing for renters and provide the homes that people need in emergency accommodation to be able to exit.”
RM Block
He said that the plan was about “activating supply, but also supporting people”.
Mr Browne and Taoiseach Micheál Martin were asked about the plan ahead of it going to Cabinet on Wednesday.
Mr Martin has said the Government’s new housing plan will mark “the most unprecedented investment in housing ever”.
He said the plan would include a “significant” boost in funding for the Land Development Agency (LDA).
There is to be an additional €2.5 billion in funding for the LDA, which will have an expanded role under the latest plan for tackling the housing crisis.
The Government’s new housing plan, to be called Delivering Homes, Building Communities, will aim to deliver 90,000 ‘starter homes’ over the next five years.
Overall, the Government has pledged the delivery of more than 300,000 new homes by the end of 2030.
The new plan, being brought to Cabinet by Mr Browne on Wednesday, will be published on Thursday. It will outline details of how the commitment is to be met. – PA
