1939. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the breakdown, by local authority of the number of people who have been housed through the Housing First Programme for each year from 2020-2026 inclusive, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63612/26]

1942. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of people in County Cork were housed through the Housing First Programme in each of the years from 2020-2026 inclusive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63610/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1939 and 1942 together.

The Housing First approach to addressing homelessness places direct access to housing first and foremost for vulnerable individuals using homeless services consistently or intermittently over long periods of time, and those unable or resistant to accessing homeless services and who may then become habitual rough sleepers. These individuals often have complex high support needs such as mental or physical health problems, addiction issues or dual diagnosis (the presence of mental ill health and a substance addiction).

The first National Implementation Plan for Housing First, published in September 2018, included an overall target of 663 tenancies for the period 2018-2021 with a total of 756 Housing First tenancies created by the conclusion of the plan.

Housing for All committed to the further expansion of Housing First. A new National Implementation Plan, which provides for a further 1,319 tenancies covering the period 2022-2026, was published in December 2021. These targets are based on an analysis of need, which involved all key stakeholders and was supported by The Housing Agency. The implementation of the Plan is a joint initiative of my Department, the Department of Health, the Health Service Executive (HSE), the criminal justice sector (the Probation Service and the Irish Prison Service) and Local Authorities, in conjunction with NGO partners. A key initiative under Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030 is the further expansion of the Housing First programme to create 2,000 tenancies to help eliminate long term homelessness.

Data on the number of Housing First tenancies created is published in my Department's homeless quarterly progress reports which are based on quarterly performance reports submitted by the nine regional lead authorities responsible for the administration of homeless services at local level. Progress and performance reports are available on my Departments website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/collections/homelessness-data/.

The Q1 2026 progress report shows that 1,127 tenancies have been established under the current National Implementation Plan and 1,042 individuals are currently in a Housing First tenancy.