I thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for giving me the opportunity to raise this matter on the Adjournment. Bed and breakfast accommodation is completely unsuitable for young people for whom the health boards have responsibility. These children and young people are totally vulnerable when placed in such accommodation. They wander the streets all day with aid of £5 from a community welfare officer and as a result are more likely to get into trouble with the law and become criminals.
There has been optimism about the provisions of the Child Care Act but social workers and other professionals involved in child care are being put in an impossible position on account of the lack of residential places for children. Organisations working with the homeless have disputed the figures furnished to me by the Minister for Health in reply to a parliamentary question concerning the availability of residential accommodation for homeless children. They are worried about the standard of bed and breakfast accommodation, the quality of care and the suitability of such accommodation for these children.
In my role as a social worker before being elected to this House I was aware that anybody dealing with children in care must be the subject of intense investigation, ensuring that certain standards are maintained. For example, in the case of a foster parent providing residential care for children, strict assessment procedures apply. Why should bed and breakfast accommodation be considered suitable for young people? Why should 25 young people have spent the night in bed and breakfast accommodation in Dublin on Monday last?
I ask the Minister to make a clear statement and issue guidelines to all health boards. He might assure the House that he does not consider bed and breakfast accommodation suitable for young people. We may well be faced with circumstances in which a major tragedy may occur, with an attendant investigation into the usage of bed and breakfast accommodation for young people. I understand that some of these young people, along with some owners of bed and breakfast establishments, are very unhappy with the position and that disturbing stories are beginning to emerge about young people being introduced to drugs when placed in this type of accommodation.
People may well ask why there is an increasing problem with child homelessness in Dublin and elsewhere. The reasons are many and complex.
Obviously there is the incidence of increasing poverty among families, accompanied by marital problems. I am informed that, because of the reduction in emigration, agencies in London are not dealing with as many young vulnerable Irish people as in the past. Thus, these children's needs have to be met here. The increase is also because the health boards have responsibility to provide accommodation for homeless children up to the age of 18. Under the provision of section 3 the health boards have a responsibility to promote the welfare of children and bed and breakfast accommodation does not do that. As section 5 of the Child Care Act, 1991, places a statutory obligation on health boards to provide "reasonable, suitable and appropriate accommodation for homeless children" will the Minister outline to the House how bed and breakfast accommodation for vulnerable, homeless children can be construed as either reasonable, appropriate or suitable? In reply to a parliamentary question the Minister said that children as young as 12 years of age are being placed in unsupervised, unsuitable and inappropriate bed and breakfast accommodation, not just in the Eastern Health Board region but in the majority of health boards. The reality is that almost all health boards use this type of accommodation for homeless children.
In the Eastern Health Board region, where the problem is most acute, the official number of homeless children placed in bed and breakfast accommodation has increased from 39 in 1991 to 75 in 1993. There are insufficient facilities for homeless children and the health boards are becoming increasingly reliant on bed and breakfast accommodation.
In theory children have a right to proper accommodation but, in fact, they are not getting it. The dangers must be obvious to all Members and the Minister must issue guidelines. If the Minister for Health was present I would remind him of his concerns in this regard when he contributed to the Child Care Bill earlier. He was pessimistic about the use of section 5 and separating homeless children from other children. He was right to be pessimistic because it is clear that homeless children are not getting the range of services they need. It is not a case of lack of funding but a lack of political will to address the issue. It will result in untold damage, physical and psychological, to these children. Will the Minister issue instructions to each health board prohibiting the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless children? If he is not prepared to do this, Members and the public at large will remember that the Minister condoned the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless children.
