Vol. 415 No. 4
141 Miss Flaherty asked the Minister for the Environment if he will outline whether local authorities are responsible under the Housing Act, 1988, for the registering of hostels which provide emergency accommodation for adults, including single men and women and families and couples, in their area.
142 Miss Flaherty asked the Minister for the Environment if he will outline whether local authorities are responsible under the Housing Act, 1988, for monitoring the extent of the available emergency accommodation in their area.
143 Miss Flaherty asked the Minister for the Environment if he will outline whether local authorities are responsible under the Housing Act, 1988, for monitoring and assessing the suitability of hostel accommodation for the different needs of the adults availing of the accommodation.
144 Miss Flaherty asked the Minister for the Environment if he will outline whether local authorities are responsible under the Housing Act, 1988, for providing funding for staffing and non-staffing costs of the emergency hostels.
145 Miss Flaherty asked the Minister for the Environment if he will outline whether local authorities are responsible under the Housing Act, 1988, for regulating funding for the emergency hostels having regard to the standard and location of the accommodation and the services provided by the hostel.
146 Miss Flaherty asked the Minister for the Environment if local authorities are responsible for the monitoring, registering and regulating of emergency hostels; and if not, if he will outline the Government Department which has such responsibility and the legislative basis for this responsibility.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 141 to 146, inclusive, together.
Housing authorities have no specific statutory functions in relation to the control or regulation of hostels, other than their general powers in relation to unfit accommodation under section 66 of the Housing Act, 1966. However, the functions of housing authorities under the Housing Act, 1988 in relation to the accommodation of homeless persons include securing an emergency response to homelessness. The responsibilities of housing authorities in this regard are set out in detail in my Department's "guidelines for housing authorities in regard to the accommodation needs of homeless persons" issued to housing authorities on 3 May 1991 and copies of which were placed in the Oireachtas Library.
A housing authority's arrangements for responding to homelessness may rely in part on hostel accommodation. In regard to the standard of accommodation, emergency response and funding, I refer to paragraphs 24, 11 and 32-33 respectively of the guidelines.
