Report of the Local Government Efficiency Review Group

approach which will be used to assess current deployment patterns having
regard to the societal changes and the improvements to roads and
communications infrastructure in recent years.
8.5.10 The risk assessment software recently developed should be used to review
the most appropriate configuration of all facets of the fire service to meet the
current and future state of development of the service. The Group endorses
the establishment of the National Directorate for the fire service, and
considers that there is potential to build on the existing shared services
approaches and to look at regional approaches outside of the major urban
areas. It should be possible also for a small number of local authorities to
act as the lead authority for certain specialised fire responsibilities on behalf
of other counties. The business case to investigate the feasibility of
developing a shared service approach in this area should be prepared.
Homelessness
8.5.11 In early 2010 local authorities were asked to establish homelessness
consultative fora on a regional basis with a view to preparing regional action
plans to address homelessness for the wider regional area. One local
authority is designated as lead authority with primary responsibility for
preparing the action plan. This approach seems sensible given that in many
cases there is a main centre of population in each region which tends to be
the main focus for homelessness issues for the wider area. The lead
authority plays a largely coordinating role, although this does not affect the
statutory responsibilities of individual authorities. Current Government
policy on homelessness emphasises moving away from long-term
occupancy of emergency accommodation and towards long-term
mainstream housing. This, along with a focus on preventative measures
and particularly the proposed rationalisation and merger of certain services
in Dublin such as reconfiguration of emergency homeless accommodation,
rationalisation of certain outreach and day services, decommissioning of
expensive private emergency accommodation and reconfiguration of
existing homeless support resources into visiting housing support teams,
should lead to a more effective homeless service that maximises value for
money and the reduction of costs in certain areas.
8.5.12 The Group recommends that local authorities with a small base of homeless
persons should consider whether a partnership approach to relevant
homeless services could be adopted with neighbouring areas to pool
resources and improve access to local services. Partnership with the HSE
in this area should be continued or enhanced where necessary, based on a
clear understanding of the respective roles of the agencies, whereby local
authorities have responsibility for accommodation aspects and the HSE for
health and care services.
Building Inspections / Enforcement
8.5.13 Local authorities are involved in the inspection of buildings and properties
for a variety of different purposes that span several different service areas,
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