Vol. 503 No. 5
49 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Health and Children the action, if any, taken to date to tackle the problem of child homelessness in view of his post budget announcement; the amount of money dedicated to tackling this problem in 1999; the breakdown between capital and current expenditure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10566/99]
Following the budget I announced the provision of £1 million to the Eastern Health Board for a special initiative involving the voluntary sector, to tackle homelessness.
The additional £1 million revenue is being used for initiatives involving the voluntary sector, to be developed for homeless young people. These include the provision of three extra flatlets as part of the Salvation Army after care service; an extension of the Focus Ireland day reception programme; an expansion of the existing Focus Ireland transitional care for homeless girls aged under 18 and the provision of a "crash pad" facility for children who are barred from other services. The board is in contact with the relevant housing authorities in relation to the provision of five houses in Dublin to provide accommodation for homeless children.
A forum on youth homelessness has now been established in the Eastern Health Board region with representation from the key voluntary organisations, Dublin Corporation and the Eastern Health Board. In addition, the Eastern Health Board have commenced the process of recruiting a manager for the crisis intervention service. This appointment will allow for an improvement in the management of the youth homeless issue.
A number of new initiatives to address the issue of child and youth homelessness have already come on stream in the Eastern Health Board area in 1999. These include an emergency residential centre for children under 12 years of age which opened in January 1999 on the grounds of Beaumont Hospital, an emergency six bed residential care service developed in co-operation with the Salvation Army for use by the out-of-hours service and operating since January 1999 and the conclusion of an agreement with St. Jude's Trust for homeless children on the provision of residential care for children under 16.
