Pat Rabbitte
Question:290 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the number of homeless persons sleeping rough in Dublin; the total and the increase over recent years; if his attention has been drawn to concerns that people sleeping rough will die of cold and exposure this winter; if his attention has been further drawn to concerns about the spread of illness such as TB among people living in such conditions; if he has surveyed accommodation capacity in publicly owned buildings such as barracks to provide shelter to those sleeping rough; if he will contact the Department of Defence regarding a request to Defence Forces or Civil Defence personnel to become involved in this area as was done some years ago when two homeless people were found dead of hypothermia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22225/99]