Minister O’Brien has today received Cabinet support to sign a European Declaration on combatting homelessness.
The signing of the Declaration will coincide with the launch next Monday (21 June) in Lisbon of a new structure, the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness, which Minister O’Brien will attend virtually. This will provide a means for EU Member States, the European Institutions and stakeholder bodies to work together in addressing homelessness. The Declaration commits all signatories to working towards the ending of homelessness by 2030. It is the first time such a structure has been put in place at a European level to deal with homelessness.
In signing the Declaration, Ireland is agreeing to:
- promote the prevention of homelessness, access to permanent housing and the provision of enabling support services to the homeless;
- welcome the involvement of all relevant stakeholders in the design and implementation of these policy measures;
- support our policy measures with adequate funding and, when appropriate, make use of EU funding as a lever to improve the way we address homelessness;
- share our good practices in combatting homelessness.