Focus Ireland believes that everyone has a right to a place they can call home. Our advocacy unit campaigns for evidence policy reform aimed at preventing individuals and families becoming, remaining or returning to homelessness. Focus Ireland continues to develop our advocacy work as we seek to develop an informed and more receptive political landscape through a range of communications, lobbying, research and policy work.

Our Advocacy Unit works to proactively respond to further deterioration in the socio-economic environment as it impacted on our customers and on the organisation. We have also continued to work to advance policy positions to help tackle and prevent homelessness.

Critical to this task is the need to demonstrate the effectiveness of a particular policy and communicate that evidence to key audiences such as the Oireachtas, national and local government, the statutory sector, other voluntary bodies and the public.

Some of Focus Ireland’s most recent campaigns and Initiatives include:

Resettlement Strategy for people at risk of homelessness leaving prison: some observations for the Strategic Plan for the Prison Service.

This submission to the Irish Prison Service is in relation to their forthcoming Strategic Plan for 2012-2014. The submission is based on Focus Irelands experience of working, in co-operation with The Irish Prison Service and others, in a number of Prison In-Reach projects across the country and raises some issues concerning the prevention of homelessness and the resettlement of prisoners on release.

Download the Resettlement Strategy Submission from Focus Ireland here.

Focus Ireland response to Solas Consultation Process: the new further education & training authority

In December 2011, the Department of Education & Skills invited stakeholders to engage in a consultation process on the establishment of SOLAS, the new Further Education and Training Authority.

Focus Ireland's response to this consultation is available here.

Joint submission by housing organisations: Preventing Homelessness - The Need for Legislative Change (2012)

This submission by four organisations concerned with homelessness and housing issues argues for legislative reform to enable local authorities take action to prevent, rather than just to remedy, homelessness.

Download Preventing Homelessness - The Need for Legislative Change here.

Budget 2012 – Ending Homelessness (2011)

This submission outlines how taking action to endlong-term homelessness and the need to sleep rough, would not only helpto improve the lives of thousands of the most margnialised in society,but it would also actually save the State money.

Download the Pre-Budget Submission 2012 here

Budget 2011 – Protect the budget for homeless services

Focus Ireland's pre-budget submission published in November 2010 made the case for protecting funding homeless services in 2011. The government’s national homeless strategy The Way Home had the potential to eradicate homelessness. However the lack of delivery of social housing to transfer people from emergency to long term housing provision has hindered progress. Until this issue is addressed there is no case for reducing the homeless budget. To read our submission in full download the PDF.

Aftercare Campaign

A major campaign for Focus Ireland has been to amend section 45 of the 1991 Child Care Act. Focus Ireland was one of the founding members of the ‘Action on Aftercare’ coalition which is a collection of NGOs campaigning for a statutory right to aftercare for all young people leaving state care.

The HSE has produced a new National Aftercare policy. As a member of the Action on Aftercare coalition Focus Ireland serves on the national policy implementation group. While the Child Care Amendment bill concluded its passage through the Oireachtas in July 2011 Focus Ireland remains committed to keeping it on the agenda.

The Poor Can’t Pay

Focus Ireland was a founding member of the Poor can’t Pay campaign. It is a coalition of NGOs, Trade Unions and community groups to campaign against cuts to basic social welfare payments and the minimum wage. To visit the campaign website click here.  www.thepoorcantpay.ie

Focus Ireland is also a member of the Makeroom alliance, the Homeless Network, End Child Poverty Coalition and European Anti-Poverty Network.