My question to the Tánaiste today is quite simple. Will funding for North West Simon Community's early intervention and homelessness prevention pilot project be included in the forthcoming budget?

On 26 August the Government published the most recent homelessness statistics, which show that 106 individuals, including 22 child dependants, were provided with local authority-managed emergency accommodation in counties Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo during the week of 20 to 26 July 2022. The overall statistics represent an 8.1% increase month on month, with 98 people homeless in June 2022, and an increase of 13.97% year on year, with 93 people homeless in July 2021, while the increase year on year in the number of children homeless is a massive 29.1%.

In January 2022 North West Simon Community submitted proposals to provide homelessness prevention and outreach services in Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo to the three local authorities. If accepted and fully funded, the associated income, together with the agreed funding for the resettlement and tenancy support and sustainment services, RTSS, contract in County Donegal, would have put North West Simon Community in a stable financial position for the year.

As no decisions on the proposals had been notified to North West Simon Community by May 2022, the board of directors sought direct engagement with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to request that a special provision to secure the services be included in budget 2023. On 12 July two directors and the CEO met with officials from the Department. The officials repeated the standard explanation that the Minister defines policy, the regional management group develops homeless service plans at a local level, and the Department issues the requested funding. On this basis, it was asserted that the Department could see no reason North West Simon Community's homelessness prevention services would not be eligible for funding under section 10 of the Housing Act 1988 if included in the forthcoming north-west regional homelessness action plan.

However, when the discussion turned to the specifics of North West Simon Community's current proposals, it was acknowledged that the Department had raised questions about the rationale for a funding proposal submitted by Leitrim County Council. The implications of this acknowledgment are quite significant. First, it illustrates that the Department has made a determination on what constitutes acceptable funding for a particular type of service. Second, the Department very clearly exercises a degree of oversight of the service plans developed by individual local authorities, which far exceeds the arrangements described earlier. This belies the supposed independence of regional homeless forums. Again, it was stressed that a funding proposal for such a project could only be considered by the Department if submitted by the north-west joint homeless consultative forum's management group.

However, the immediate obstacle to adopting this approach is that it would require the three local authorities to commit additional funding in excess of €100,000 to the pilot project over three years. The recognition that the local authorities could have great difficulty allocating these additional funds is one of the key reasons for North West Simon Community developing the pilot project in the first instance.

The need for this service has never been greater. It is imperative that the Department funds the much-needed development of the North West Simon Community service to ensure that homelessness is battled in all areas of this country. My question to the Tánaiste is therefore as follows. An essential homeless service in the north west is in danger of closing before Christmas. Is this going to happen on the Government's watch?

A sum of €194 million was provided for homeless services in 2022. As the Deputy will know, the budget for 2023 is under negotiation. I am sure there will be funding for homeless services next year. There will have to be, given we have seen the fall in homelessness that had occurred now eliminated, essentially, and we are seeing very high homeless numbers again. All of that will form part of the budget negotiations currently under way. As I said, there was €194 million last year and a figure to be agreed for next year.

I cannot give the Deputy a commitment here on North West Simon Community. As he outlined in his question, funding is often allocated on a decentralised basis and there is a process to be followed. Certainly, however, any proposals that are made are reviewed. I imagine that this is something the Deputy will be able to take up directly with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, in a different format.

There will be funding next year all right, and that seems to be case, but it will be focused on Dublin mainly. Homelessness is a nationwide problem in this country, unfortunately. The figures released for the north west showing 106 individuals and 22 child dependants are based on local authority-provided respite centres, which are full all the time, so they are not actually the real figures. There is a huge number of people in homelessness right across the north west who are couch-surfing, staying with friends, sleeping on the floor and so on and who are not counted in any figures. It is the same here in Dublin as well, but the figures here are a lot higher because there are more services here. The reality is that these homeless people will be left behind if this funding is not brought forward.

We tried to engage with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and to have meetings with him. Unfortunately, he did not turn up to that meeting. We met officials and so on and they were adamant that they had nothing to do with the funding, yet then they held back funding for Leitrim County Council. This is the way the Government controls funding actually getting out to local authorities. It sets up a local authority group that filters the funding applications such that they send to the Department only those applications they know will get funded, but then the Department questions and queries them. It creates this barrier and funding is not got out to the bodies that need it to help homeless people. I therefore ask the Tánaiste that funding be made available urgently to ensure that a pilot project may proceed. If that pilot project does not work, so be it, but at least let it proceed.

I understand that the meeting with the Minister was arranged but that it then clashed with the confidence motion in the Dáil. That is why the Minister was unable to attend. I am sure the meeting can be rearranged and can proceed. The Minister does chair the national homeless action committee, and some of the people involved sit on that.

As I said, budget negotiations are under way. There will of course be funding for homeless services next year.

As for the particular proposal the Deputy mentioned, North West Simon Community, I might ask the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to come back to him on that in more detail because he would be more across it than I am.