I thought the Taoiseach's comments on this issue on Tuesday were deeply disappointing. Talking about a "dependency culture" and local authorities asking for "handouts" misunderstands the problem. There are three issues I urge the Minister to take into account when looking at the delays in casual re-lets. The first is the amount of funding per unit is not sufficient in many cases, especially when the stock has been lived in for a lengthy period. The second is the time it is taking local authorities to receive approval from the Department is too long. I talk to local authority officials and it can be six months before they get approval. The third issue is procurement rules are too rigid. Anything that will speed this process up we will support but the Minister cannot blame the local authorities as there is a lot that is directly related to the him, his funding allocations and his departmental rules and that needs to change as well.

Sentiment score: 0.08

14. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to urgently review the cut in funding for the social housing acquisition programmes, given its negative impact on key homeless schemes like tenant in situ and housing first. [24433/25]

Sentiment score: -0.17

Much of the discussion around social housing acquisitions has been on the tenant in situ scheme but there is also a very real concern the housing first programme will be affected. The programme for Government commits to increasing the targets for housing first. Will the Minister tell us what those targets are? Does he have any concern the restrictions on funding for acquisitions will make it difficult to meet those targets?

Sentiment score: -0.14

The housing first programme is vital in getting single people, in particular, who are long-term homeless out of emergency accommodation. It has worked best in previous years when it was a mix of new build and acquisitions led by approved housing bodies using the capital advance leasing facility, CALF, and capital assistance scheme, CAS, funding mechanisms. There is real concern among local authorities, particularly in Dublin and Cork, that the changes the Minister made will make it difficult to reach the targets for this year, particularly if they have increased. I know the Minister will not answer the question and will probably just read out the script for the third time, but can he at least talk to the officials in his Department, who head up the homeless services, and to the local authorities to ensure that whatever target he sets for housing first this year is met through a mixture of new builds and acquisitions?

Sentiment score: 0.28