THE GOVERNMENT will tomorrow publish a four-year strategy to eliminate long-term homelessness against a backdrop of claims from voluntary groups that homeless people are being turned away from services due to funding shortages.
About 40 key services for homeless people which were due to come on stream this year have been shelved due to a funding freeze imposed by the Health Service Executive (HSE).
Homeless agencies in Dublin and Cork say they are turning away dozens of homeless people as a result of their emergency beds being used to capacity.
Despite the lack of funding available to develop new services, the Government is due to publish a new strategy aimed at eliminating long-term homelessness by ensuring homeless people are not in emergency accommodation, such as shelters or BBs, for longer than six months.
The Way Home: A Strategy to Address Adult Homelessness in Ireland 2008-2013 envisages a major shift towards the use of private-rented accommodation rather than emergency hostel beds.
The strategy indicates there is a broadly sufficient number of emergency beds in the capital and says emphasis needs to be shifted towards longer-term accommodation.
It says some emergency accommodation could be converted into longer-term housing, while greater use of private-rented accommodation offers "significant potential" in meeting the needs of homeless people who are capable of independent living.
However, the 83-page strategy is not expected to contain any details on how much funding will be needed, or whether Government money will be ringfenced to ensure it is implemented.
Well-placed sources say that an implementation plan to accompany the strategy may not be ready for some months.
Funding from the HSE is considered crucial in the delivery of support services for homeless people who may have addiction or mental health problems.
The HSE has frozen its budget for homeless services this year at €33 million, the same funding as last year.
It says it is reviewing its current expenditure on homeless services and is drawing up a revised funding regime for the sector.
Several homeless agencies say they are experiencing severe financial problems as a result of the funding freeze.
They also say plans to create longer-term accommodation units - a core part of the new strategy - have been put on hold as a result.
The latest Department of Environment housing needs assessment in 2005 indicated that there were 3,031 people experiencing homelessness.
