A value for money and efficiency review of all homeless services and voluntary housing associations has been ordered by Minister for the Community Alan Kelly.
With 536 housing and homeless organisations operating in the State, a spokesman said there was a concern of a significant degree of overlap and service duplication.
In Dublin, there are thought to be up to 50 organisations – many local and voluntary – offering services directly to the homeless, with 23 funded through section 10 by one of the four local authorities. Outside Dublin some further 30 State-funded organisations are directly involved with homeless people.
There are about 470 voluntary housing bodies involved only in building housing, most of them on a very small and local scale, with considerable duplication of function.
Numerous organisations known mainly for their work with the homeless are also involved in building. In the homelessness arena, many are providing similar services.
Parallel management
For instance, in Dublin, eight organisations – Peter McVerry Trust, Crosscare, the De Paul Trust, Novas, the
Salvation Army
,
Focus Ireland
, the YMCA and Dublin Simon – are involved in the provision of emergency shelter, each with their own organisational management teams, chief executives or directors, policy teams, buildings managers, health and counselling teams, and training programmes.
The estimated State funding for these organisations, to provide emergency beds this year, is over €13 million.
There are nine organisations in Dublin providing long-term supported accommodation, including many already mentioned, and also the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, the Dublin Aids Fund and Sophia Housing as well as Dublin City Council. The State funding for these, for this service this year, is put at €7.6 million.
State funding
Day services such as drop-in advice and/or food centres are provided by five groups – Crosscare, the Capuchin Day Centre, Merchants Quay
Ireland
, Focus Ireland and
Threshold
, at a combined cost in terms of State funding, of €4 million this year.
Other services to the homeless of Dublin include the emergency helpline, the central placement service, resettlement and tenancy sustainment, and domestic violence refuges.
Other services are provided by the Department of Social Protection, the HSE and individual local authorities, while more, such as Trust operated by Alice Leahy, and Inner City Help Homeless, receive no State funding.
The terms of reference of this review, due to get under way before the end of the year, say it will evaluate “the homelessness sector including its structures, service delivery and co-ordination”.
A spokesman for the Minister said: “Housing and homelessness agencies are vital to the efforts of tackling homelessness.
“Their experience and know-how at preventing homelessness needs to be tapped into and no one is seeking to take away from the resources for the important work they do.
“However, there is concern there are so many organisations being funded from the same pot . . . and if there is inefficiency or duplication that needs to be addressed.”
