Topical Issue Debate

Teaching Council of Ireland

Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to discuss this important issue that is critical to Dún Laoghaire colleges of further education and other colleges of further education throughout the country.

From 1 November next, to be paid from State funds, teachers employed in State-funded teaching positions must be registered with the Teaching Council. While implementation of this provision is welcome, there is a need for flexibility in the system as it is currently causing an employment crisis for one college of further education in Dún Laoghaire. I will outline the reason this flexibility is required. First, there is currently no provision in some of the new education and training boards to employ a teacher whose Teaching Council registration is pending. As a result of this, Dún Laoghaire Senior College currently has a certified sick leave vacancy that cannot be filled in the short term, resulting in the cancellation of classes for students. While the supervision and substitution scheme can be used to provide some cover for short-term absences, it is only a temporary solution. Teachers who are available for supervision and substitution generally do not have the subject expertise and skills to deliver the content required. As I stated, supervision and substitution is acceptable on a short term basis, but classes cannot continue to be cancelled should sick leave be extended. This will have a severe impact, particularly in further education, and must be urgently addressed.

Colleges of further education, by their very nature, offer specialist classes including cloud computing, theatrical make-up and soccer coaching. Often experts in an industry are more appropriately competent in these areas than are persons with a teaching diploma. Unfortunately, classes in cloud computing have had to be cancelled owing to this new registration requirement. I have been contacted by students who are upset, annoyed and disappointed because their courses have been cancelled. This is not acceptable. Accommodations must be made to allow the employment of industry specialists until persons deemed qualified by the Teaching Council can be recruited or until such time as these specialists complete a teaching diploma or tutor's course.

The implementation of section 30 has prevented and will continue to prevent new course development and innovation, which has been the hallmark of further education for the past 30 years. I therefore urge the Minister to put in place a mechanism to allow the education and training boards to employ teachers whose Teaching Council registrations are pending. I also call on him to put in place a mechanism to allow the education and training boards to employ industry specialists to fill immediate vacancies.

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills (Deputy Ciarán Cannon)

I am taking this topic on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn. I thank Deputy Mitchell O'Connor for raising the matter.

Section 30 of the Teaching Council Act 2001 is due to be commenced on 1 November 2013. It is designed to underpin the Department's policy of a registered and fully qualified graduate teaching profession. It prohibits payment by the State of people employed as teachers in recognised schools unless they are registered with the Teaching Council. It also facilitates the Teaching Council in promoting professional standards in teaching. It acts in the public good by upholding and enhancing the reputation and status of the teaching profession through fair and transparent regulation.

It has long been the policy of the Department of Education and Skills that only qualified and registered teachers should be employed by schools. Current recruitment procedures set out in circular 31/2011 require schools to ensure that teachers proposed for appointment to publicly paid posts are registered with the Teaching Council and have qualifications appropriate to the sector and suitable to the post for which they are proposed. Circular 25/2013, which advised of the commencement of section 30 on 1 November 2013, was published on 15 May and refers to the requirements for the recruitment of teachers following the commencement of section 30, and the small number of permitted exceptions from the requirement to employ registered teachers.

A further circular to be published shortly will contain the procedures for people and schools upon the commencement of section 30, following further consultation with staff representative and management bodies. Regulations governing the limited conditions under which an unregistered person may be employed after the commencement of section 30 have been drafted and will be published with the circular. I hope this will clarify the situation considerably for the Deputy. Schools have been advised to ensure that registration with the Teaching Council is included as a requirement when advertising vacant teaching posts and to seek evidence of current registration prior to offering positions.

As mentioned by Deputy and discussed at length over the past couple of weeks, there are certain specialist posts in the education sector that are occupied by people who are not qualified teachers but that have been traditionally classified as teaching posts. In some cases, these posts were always intended to be teaching posts. In other cases, positions are instructional in nature and a teaching qualification is not essential. It is in the educational interests of students that those delivering such courses have specialist qualifications or experience. It is also in the public interest that such courses and activities be allowed to continue. A number of courses delivered in our PLCs and certain specialist roles in special schools would fall into this category. The Department, in consultation with the management bodies, is currently identifying these posts and where they exist. Such posts will be reclassified and will not subject to the requirements of section 30. A list of these specialist posts will be made available shortly.

Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I agree that this issue has been discussed a great deal recently and I thank him for examining the issues I have raised. I am glad to hear that some posts in specialist areas will be reclassified. I am sure Dún Laoghaire Senior College will be delighted to hear that.

I would like to draw the Minister of State's attention to another problem that arises in the context of the implementation of section 30. The Department of Education and Skills has indicated that section 30 will not apply to teachers working in the adult and community education sector, including adult education delivered at night.

However, the courses being delivered in both sectors are often similar or identical to full-time courses being delivered in further education colleges. This unfair difference in treatment must be urgently addressed.

Furthermore, teachers who are qualified to work in third level institutions such as institutions of technology do not require Teaching Council registration. This means teachers in institutes of technology will no longer be eligible for employment in further education colleges once section 30 has been commenced. These differences need to be recognised and accommodated by the Department. I urge the Minister to explore every possible avenue to reach an immediate and fair solution to these matters before 1 November.

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

The Government's view, which I am sure is shared by the Deputy as a member of the teaching profession, is that all teachers should be appropriately qualified and we must be able to stand over the quality of the teaching delivered in all schools. The commencement of section 30 of the Teaching Council Act will reinforce the Department's long-standing position that education in recognised schools funded by the State must be delivered by appropriately regulated professionals. This position must be maintained in the interests of providing the best possible education to students, which is the minimum that schoolchildren deserve. The commencement of section 30 is intended to buttress this policy and will help ensure we deliver a quality education to all of our children.

Bearing in mind the case made by the Deputy on specialised qualifications and experience of certain individuals outside the teaching profession, which would be of immense benefit to those participating in certain courses, as I indicated, we are identifying what are these specialist roles and we may seek to forego the requirement to have the individuals in question register with the Teaching Council under section 30 of the Act. The other anomalies raised will also be explored in this process.

Deputy Mitchell O'Connor described two different methods of educational delivery. The adult and community education sectors operate on a fundamentally different basis from primary and post-primary schools. The particular anomalies she described may be difficult to resolve but we will do our best to do so.

Tourism Employment

Deputy Michelle Mulherin

Today, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, announced that visitor numbers increased by 6.5% in the first eight months of 2013. Coupled with figures published by the Central Statistics Office which confirmed that 15,200 jobs were created in accommodation and food services between the second quarter of 2011 and the first half of this year, this is welcome news. The figures vindicate the policy focus on support for the tourism industry the Government has pursued, including measures such as the reduction in VAT to 9% and a reduction in PRSI on employment in the sector, as well as initiatives such as The Gathering. Clearly, the Government's focus on growth in the tourism industry as part of its strategy for economic recovery is paying off and must be continued.

It is ironic that at this time of high unemployment, the success of recovery in the tourism industry is being threatened by a shortage of trained and skilled staff, in particular chefs. The tourism industry is finding it necessary to recruit substantial numbers of staff, including chefs, from outside the country. This is a crazy position considering the number of people on the live register who wish to upskill to find work.

Basic training in reception and kitchen work and other aspects of accommodation and food services provision that would lead to FETAC level 4 and 5 awards is not available. In addition, a number of Fáilte Ireland courses were cut some years ago. This means we do not offer any intermediate post-leaving certificate education other than the full-blown tourism courses offered by third level institutions. This gap in provision has been identified by the Irish Hotels Federation and Restaurants Association of Ireland. The Department and SOLAS, in conjunction with hoteliers, restaurateurs and their representative organisations, must take immediate action to provide proper training.

I understand that figures suggest 5,000 course places would be required immediately to meet demand, with a further 2,000 places needed each year. Filling this gap will require the introduction of an apprenticeship scheme, perhaps under the auspices of vocational education committees which have educational and training facilities in place nationwide. Such a scheme would facilitate integrated education and allow trainees to attend courses on certain days while continuing to work in restaurants and hotels where they would receive practical training. Such a programme should be established by the Minister as a matter of urgency. We have an excellent opportunity, in accordance with the Government's Pathways to Work programme, to increase the employability of jobseekers and provide education that is integrated with jobs.

The men and women working in the hospitality sector are essential to its success. Training them properly will ensure visitors have a good experience, pay return visits and advise their friends to come to this country. We are always brainstorming as we seek new ideas for creating meaningful training places that will deliver jobs. This is one such idea. I am aware that conversations are under way with SOLAS in this regard and there are measures in the pipeline. These steps should be taken sooner rather than later because many jobseekers would benefit greatly from the type of education programme I have described.

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

I thank Deputy Mulherin for raising this matter.

Under the National Tourism Development Authority Act 2003, the training and education of workers in the tourism and hospitality industry fall under the remit of Fáilte Ireland, which is responsible for enterprise support, capability building and human resource development for the tourism industry. At the same time, SOLAS and my Department have overall responsibility for ensuring Ireland has the skills required to meet the needs of all industry.

Fáilte Ireland's approach to delivering training to the tourism sector has evolved over the past ten years. The sharp economic downturn adversely affected employment levels within tourism and employment opportunities. As a consequence, the priorities within the tourism industry changed to on-site practical training interventions to help boost productivity and sustain existing jobs. At the same time, Fáilte Ireland, in conjunction with the institutes of technology, has developed a strategy for the provision of hospitality and tourism programmes to provide a sustainable supply of industry ready staff to the tourism industry over the medium term. A critical aspect of the collaboration between Fáilte Ireland and the institutes of technology is that the former has sought and secured the provision of improved training and career prospects for new entrants. New apprenticeship style models have been developed and put in place across the country together with an accelerated training programme for chefs and restaurant service.

For individuals who are eager to join the workforce but do not want to attend college full-time, Fáilte Ireland supports a number of earn and learn programmes. These programmes enable individuals to attend college part-time to receive a fully recognised qualification, while receiving valuable paid work experience in a best practice establishment in the tourism industry. Fáilte Ireland considers that the range of courses delivered to 1,600 students at third level annually addresses adequately the vocational training needs of the industry.

In 2012, Fáilte Ireland provided training and business support to just under 17,000 trainees, students, employees and employers. Concerns are sometimes expressed, as noted by Deputy Mulherin, that there is a shortage of trained personnel available to work as chefs, particularly in the restaurant sector. However, statistics available to Fáilte Ireland suggest that this skills shortage does not exist on a national basis. My Department has a broader concern that training and education offerings are aligned with the needs of industry and jobseekers. It should be noted that there is also some provision at both FÁS and VEC level for professional and general cooking courses.

SOLAS, the new further education and training authority, is being established as a funding and oversight body under the aegis of my Department to ensure the provision of 21st century high quality further education and training programmes to learners. Section 9 of the Further Education and Training Bill 2013 provides that SOLAS, once established, will prepare a strategy in respect of further education and training.

SOLAS will promote further education and training provision that is relevant to individual learner needs and national skills needs. This includes the needs of business and future skills needs.

The Deputy may also be interested to know that in consultation with the Restaurants Association of Ireland, a new general cookery course with up to 100 places has been launched through the Momentum programme. FÁS has issued tenders for training entities to get involved in that.

In collaboration with industry, we are carrying out a review of our national apprenticeship schemes to determine how we can deliver the best apprenticeship opportunities to all our people, particularly our unemployed young people. Following that review, I expect significant developments built around partnership between SOLAS, our education and training boards and the hotel and catering sector.

Deputy Michelle Mulherin

I thank the Minister of State for his response. According to the Irish Hotels Federation and the Restaurants Association of Ireland, there is a shortage of kitchen staff and other staff in the hospitality sector. The Minister of State has indicated that as apprenticeships are being reviewed, there may be scope to work with the tourism, food and hospitality industries. Does that confirm the need for what I am requesting, an integrated apprenticeship-style course? There is a gap between FETAC level 4 and level 5. Representatives of the Irish Hotels Federation were in Buswells Hotel today. They have said they are discussing the matter with SOLAS and that the problem is recognised. However, the Minister of State's response does not seem to indicate that.

Emphasising the shortage, many chefs are being brought into the country because restaurants do not have the chefs. While there may be chefs in the kitchen, why can we not train our own people where there is a skills shortage?

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

The Deputy is correct in pointing out that the Irish Hotels Federation has recently forwarded a report to my Department on job creation and training within the overall hospitality industry. It sets out the IHF's concerns over training and skills shortages in the hotel sector. It also sets out the key elements of the training needs in the hotel and guesthouse sector. The Minister, Deputy Quinn, has agreed to meet representatives of the IHF shortly to discuss the report further.

There seems to be a difference of opinion. Fáilte Ireland, which is responsible for the training needs of the industry, asserts that shortages are only occurring in certain pockets around the country and not nationally, whereas the IHF and the RAI seem to think quite the opposite. My door is always open to both those organisations and we will certainly work with them in partnership as best we can to address what they see as the skills shortages in that sector. We have worked with them in developing the Momentum programme, allowing people who are unemployed to gain access to a free, high quality course, which has been developed in partnership with the restaurant sector responding directly to its skills needs.

SOLAS will shortly be established and one of its obligations will be to prepare a national strategy in respect of further education and training that is relevant to individual learner needs, but also and equally important, relevant to the needs of the industry. That will involve a significant consultation process and I hope the IHF and the RAI will play a significant role in that process.

Services for People with Disabilities

Deputy Thomas P. Broughan

As the Acting Chairman, Deputy Terence Flanagan, knows, the St. Michael’s House group is an excellent organisation providing care, residential services and respite to persons with intellectual disabilities and their families living in Dublin and north Leinster. The organisation has been operational for more than 57 years, and in my time as a public representative, I have been consistently reminded of the vital contribution St. Michael’s House makes to the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and their families.

St. Michael's House is the largest provider of intellectual disability services in Dublin and the third largest provider of such services nationally. It currently provides day services to 1,679 citizens and residential services to 454 citizens. The majority of the group’s services are in the HSE north east region. Its budget from the HSE, which has been savagely cut in recent years, is approximately €68 million.

It is operating under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. It has the largest residential waiting list nationally, with 330 people on the priority list for residential services. It accounts for 18% of the national waiting list, with just under 6% of the possible beds. St. Michael’s House maintains that 52 of the families with people on the waiting list are in serious difficulty at present. In recent weeks, constituents whose family members receive vital services from St. Michael’s House contacted me in a state of distress because of the potential consequences for their families of the most recent proposed cuts to funding to the organisation.

Since 2008, the budget for St. Michael’s House has been cut by more than €12 million. This has posed an almost impossible challenge for the organisation because of the continued high demand for its services. In contrast to the declining budget, the number of people using St. Michael’s House services has increased, with 250 more people using the day services and 45 more people in its residential services than in 2008. On top of this, St. Michael’s House continues to accept all new children referred to its services, and the current referral rate is 14 infants per month. Another challenge posed is the decline in staff numbers owing to the moratorium on recruitment. There are approximately 1,100 staff in the organisation, but since 2009, St. Michael’s House has had to carry on providing more services to more people with 240 fewer staff.

On 9 August, the organisation received information that, on top of the 1.36% cut applied to its budget allocation for 2013, a further €1 million was to be taken from the organisation’s budget. There was also the impact of the Haddington Road agreement on clinical and other staff. I am heartened to note that following efforts from our constituents - I hope and trust the Acting Chairman is involved in this - some of the €1 million cut has been rowed back. Families of those availing of the services are terrified, however, that cuts to the service could include contraction of residential and respite services, the closure of residential services for one Sunday per month, the ending of the St. Michael’s House rent subsidy in residential services, the end of the trainee allowance, reductions in transport so that staff and families will be required to provide transport, and no new residential places or long-term placement. As we approach 15 October, the families of those availing of St. Michael House's services may be faced with some such menu for 2014, which would be appalling.

I recently spoke to Ms Patricia Doherty, its chief executive officer. She has been forced to advise families of the grave fears among her management team that there will be an unavoidable impact. As in so many other areas, the people are begging the Government in two or three weeks to end austerity and get out of the horrendous rut of cutting which is damaging our economy. These are the most vulnerable of our fellow citizens. We have a duty of care to them and their families, who may have looked after them for 20, 30 or more years. In the budget for 2014, I urge the Government not to make further cuts and to ameliorate the impact of existing cuts.

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

I am pleased to outline the Government's position on the situation at St. Michael's House disability services. I begin by recognising the valuable contribution St. Michael's House makes to the provision of services to people with intellectual disabilities. In 2012, St. Michael's House received more than €70 million in funding from the HSE to provide a range of services to approximately 1,660 children and adults with an intellectual disability in more than 170 centres in the greater Dublin area and Navan, County Meath.

The range of services provided by St. Michael's House includes individualised services, clinical therapies, early services, special national schools, inclusive education, vocational training, adult day services, employment support, residential independent living, and respite, social, recreational and specialised Alzheimer services.

The HSE and St. Michael's House always work in close collaboration with regard to the funding and delivery of services to people with an intellectual disability. As a voluntary agency, St Michael's House is obliged to work within the resources available to it and in that regard it has introduced significant efficiencies in recent years to remain within budget. The HSE has advised that these changes to date have not resulted in service contraction.

The Haddington Road agreement sets out measures relating to productivity, cost extraction and reform. Altogether these measures intend to achieve a required pay bill reduction of €150 million identified in the HSE service plan 2013. The agreement came into effect on 1 July this year and provides a framework and opportunities for managers within the health services, including agencies such as St. Michael's House, to reduce costs associated with agency and overtime and a wide range of other pay costs, especially through measures such as additional working hours and revised rates in respect of overtime.

The Department of Health understands that agencies such as St. Michael's House were requested to submit plans to the HSE outlining how it intended to achieve the necessary cost reductions in terms of the new consolidated pay scales and the additional hours available under the Haddington Road agreement without altering the level of front-line services to be delivered as agreed in the service arrangements.

The HSE has advised the Department of Health that the recent application of additional budget cuts under the Haddington Road agreement has presented a significant challenge to St. Michael's House. A process is now under way between the HSE and St. Michael's House to identify the impact of these budget reductions on services. The HSE and St. Michael's House have met several times and the Department of Health has received assurances from the HSE that both organisations are committed to working within the terms of the Haddington Road agreement to ensure services are impacted upon only as a measure of last resort. In this context, it is vital that all providers of disability services work creatively and co-operatively to ensure that the maximum level of services are maintained for service users within the funding resources available.

Deputy Thomas P. Broughan

The Minister of State's last paragraph is something that parents and families of the service users of St. Michael's House will be very concerned about. The Minister of State said that cuts to front-line services will only be a measure of last resort. However, everyone knows that many of the services provided by the organisation have been under huge pressure since the budget of 2009 and that there is no more to give, no more than in any other part of the health system. The services have been cut to the bone and the Government is taking away services from people who need them. It is a horrendous situation that must be reversed.

The Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, advised me in a letter that the HSE north-east division and St. Michael's House were working together to ensure services are not impacted upon. However, he gave no guarantee that there would be no further attacks on front-line services. Given the fact that almost 20% of citizens in the country with an intellectual disability are waiting for services from St. Michael's House, surely the Minister of State should give a commitment in the House today.

The recent cut of €1 million resulting from the Haddington Road agreement came in addition to the €12 million in cuts in previous budgets. Even with this, St. Michael's House has fully complied with attempting to meet the requirements of the HSE. The message I want the Minister of State to get on behalf of the service users is that the cuts are posing real challenges to the services that the organisation seeks to provide. It would be disastrous if, when Government Deputies will, perhaps, be cheering for one or two good things in the budget in a couple of weeks' time, we then see in the detail that further cutbacks are coming. What plans or proposals do the Minister, Deputy Reilly, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and the rest of the Department have to address the growing waiting lists for children and young adults who need the services of St. Michael's House?

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

The spirit underpinning and woven throughout the Haddington Road agreement is that we will try as best we can to work with fewer resources than we have worked with in the past on the basis that we continue to borrow €1 billion per month to run our country. We still have that deficit and it is piling up month after month upon the shoulders of the next generation.

Deputy Thomas P. Broughan

It is used to pay interest on bank debt that the Minister of State voted for.

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

That is only a tiny fraction of the €1 billion per month.

Deputy Thomas P. Broughan

That decision was rammed through this House by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

Only approximately 13% is attributable to bank interest.

Deputy Thomas P. Broughan

No, it is not. All of it is attributable to the interest.

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

On that basis, it is incumbent upon all of us to approach the budgetary process in a responsible manner. The Haddington Road agreement suggests that all of us should work in as creative and innovative a fashion as possible to be able to re-engineer the delivery of services such that we do not arrive at the point of requiring to take what the Deputy described as measures of last resort, that is, the point of impacting on front-line services. No one wants to arrive at that point. I am confident that with the process of engagement and collaboration that is ongoing between the HSE and St. Michael's House we will not arrive at that point. I believe the type of management, budgetary and human resources skills available in the upper echelons of management in the St. Michael's House organisation and the HSE will be brought to the best possible use to ensure that the front-line services are maintained while at the same time working within the resources that are allocated to St. Michael's House by the HSE.

Homelessness Strategy

Deputy Michael P. Kitt

I hope to have a full debate shortly when the Minister is available. Otherwise the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, and I can have this debate at the Ballinasloe fair next weekend. The Government's policy statement from February 2013 declared, "It is the Government's aim to end long-term homelessness by the end of 2016". I fully support the statement but the chief executive of the Simon Community has said that the homelessness and rough sleeping crisis is worse than ever now. He said that we are in the worst of times and that the Government must decide its policy on housing because no one is building houses. He stated: "The homeless fella on the street can't afford private-rented accommodation. Rents are going up, rent allowance caps are coming down all the time, there's no extra accommodation being provided. It's a complete logjam".

I read a quotation in the newspapers yesterday to the effect that the number of people sleeping rough on the streets of Dublin has increased by 88% in the past year. I raised the matter with the Taoiseach yesterday in respect of promised legislation and he replied that the housing assistance Bill is due in early 2014. I understand there may be further legislation as well and I am keen to know when it will be ready. The Taoiseach also remarked that the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, would be meeting NAMA concerning the potential of acquiring units of housing. Perhaps the Minister of State could give details of the meeting which, I understand, took place yesterday, and any steps to be taken to deal with this important issue.

In recent weeks I attended the launch of housing reports by the Peter McVerry Trust and Focus Ireland. They outlined the challenges that are facing the homeless and the organisations themselves as well as raising the issue of youth homelessness. I understand the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is reviewing a youth homelessness strategy and I seek information on that as well. There is an issue of oversight. The Minister has appointed an oversight group which was established to monitor and measure progress. This is an urgent matter and it needs an urgent response.

Deputy Kevin Humphreys

I express my disappointment that neither Minister was available to take this urgent debate today. The figures published by the Simon Community earlier this week are a cause of concern. They show an increase of 88% in the number of people sleeping rough in Dublin city centre. There are reports that capacity for short-term crisis accommodation has been reduced and that social housing units are not being turned over quickly enough. One of my primary concerns is that buildings which have been bought to provide accommodation for the homeless are not being used. The Minister of State may be aware that I raised this issue in February this year. I pointed out that Dublin City Council spent €7 million on the former Longfields Hotel, off Baggot Street, which has lain empty for six years.

This was highlighted by Ursula Halligan on the TV3 news, but unfortunately there has been very little movement. It is unacceptable for large amounts of money to be spent to provide much-needed accommodation in this area only for it to be left idle. Longfields Hotel may well be just one of many. While the Minister of State is committed to the long-term strategy to eradicate homelessness by 2016, swift action must be taken now as winter approaches. In my home area of Ringsend and Pearse Street, more than 100 city council social housing units have been empty for anything between six months and two years. These could be turned around swiftly to get people out of temporary and short-term accommodation. It is completely unacceptable that such homes are lying empty and that potential homeless shelters are not being used. I urge the Minister of State to take immediate action by discussing this issue with his colleagues, given the absence of the Minister, Deputy Hogan. They should call in the relevant city and county managers to consider a mechanism to deal with this problem swiftly before the onset of winter.

Deputy Dessie Ellis

Homelessness is one of the biggest crises facing us today. Approximately 5,000 people are homeless and according to Focus Ireland, seven new people report each day. This is an increase of 88% in rough sleepers. In addition, there also has been a huge rise in the number of people using the homeless services provided by the Peter McVerry Trust, Simon and Focus Ireland. This year there was a cut of €4.5 million, or 10.7%, in the Dublin homelessness service's budget. Only a tiny number of new public social housing units are being delivered and approved housing bodies are struggling to find credit. At present, 100,000 people are in mortgage distress and approximately 29,000 are in rent-to-buy schemes. These figures can be combined with the 112,000 people who are on the housing waiting list and if one considers those in the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, or in receipt of rent supplement, a further 110,000 are not properly housed. Recent cuts to rent supplement have added to the threat of homelessness and, in addition, some landlords under RAS have been seeking to take back properties even though contracts are in place. The local authorities cannot cope with the numbers and are even suggesting to people that they should report to its homeless section.

While it is a terrible tragedy to lose one's home, to end up in a bed-and-breakfast or homeless shelter with one's family, away from services and community support such as schools, compounds an already tragic situation. The Government made quite a fanfare of rededicating itself to a deadline of ending long-term homelessness and rough sleeping by 2016. I have welcomed this, as it is a realisable goal and a good target to set. It should be a priority for the Government to do so. While this may be a priority for the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, it certainly is not for the Government at large. All the major players in tackling homelessness agree the solution is a political one, which requires political will and the dedication to put funds where they are needed. Allowing homelessness to spiral further out of control is more costly in the long term than dedicating funds to reach the target set for 2016. The Minister of State has rightly referred to a housing-led approach but this does not appear to be the course being followed, certainly not in a sustainable fashion that meets the needs of those emerging from homelessness.

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

Unfortunately, the Minister of State with responsibility for housing and planning, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, is not available to take this debate today but has asked me to thank the Members for providing this opportunity to discuss the issue of homelessness and the Government's response to it. Dublin Simon has reported through the national media that 85 people were sleeping rough in Dublin city centre on 3 September 2013. This figure is comparable with the count of rough sleepers conducted in April 2013 and organised by the Dublin region homeless consultative forum, which found that 94 persons were confirmed as sleeping rough on the night in question. These rough sleeper figures indicate the significant challenge in dealing with the complexity of the homelessness issue and the difficulties in finding answers to it.

Rough sleeping is monitored closely countywide, but particularly in Dublin. The problem of rough sleeping is limited outside Dublin, as Cork, Waterford, Limerick and Galway city councils have reported sufficient bed capacity on a nightly basis and that no one was sleeping rough due to lack of a bed. The Dublin region's outreach team works on an ongoing basis to engage with all individuals sleeping rough with the specific goal of moving people into accommodation through Dublin City Council's central placement service. Dublin City Council commenced a public awareness campaign earlier this week to allow members of the public to contact the outreach team about people sleeping rough with a view to moving people into temporary accommodation and on to independent living.

The priority of the Government, as has been identified by the Deputies opposite, is to ensure that homeless people have access to secure, stable and appropriate accommodation. It is not acceptable that people should sleep on the streets of our cities and towns, and while the immediate hardship of sleeping rough may be solved through emergency accommodation, this is not a viable long-term solution. The recently published homelessness policy statement outlined the Government's aim to end long-term homelessness by the end of 2016. I assure Deputy Ellis that in setting out her ambition to end homelessness by 2016, the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, has the full support of the Government in meeting that target. The statement emphasises a housing-led approach, which is about accessing permanent housing as the primary response to all forms of homelessness.

The availability and supply of secure, affordable and adequate housing is essential in ensuring sustainable tenancies and in ending long-term homelessness. While it is clear that a proportion of funding must be used to provide sufficient bed capacity to accommodate those in need of emergency accommodation, it is equally important that resources be channelled to deliver more permanent responses in a more focused and strategic way. In the Dublin region in 2012, 879 people moved from homelessness to independent living. A set of indicators is now being used to demonstrate the dynamics of homelessness as it is addressed across the country. These indicators will give a clearer picture of homelessness in Ireland and, in quantifying its ongoing extent, will support the introduction of realistic and practical solutions. As part of the new arrangements for funding housing authorities in dealing with homelessness in 2013, reports on indicators are being provided to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

Deputy Michael P. Kitt

First, I note that COPE Galway, the organisation dealing with housing in Galway city, has stated that Galway's homeless are so for longer than they should be. However, it is not as serious a problem as it is in Dublin and that is the reason I concentrated my remarks on Dublin in particular. The Minister and the Department should consider the question of who conducts the weekly street counts on the number of people sleeping rough in the city centre area in particular, because the Simon Community has stated that the figures could be higher, as the count does not include the hidden homeless who stay in hospitals, Internet cafes and squats. The answer to the question I put to the Minister is that perhaps we do not know the real figure for homelessness. This is the reason I noted at the outset of my contribution that a longer Dáil debate on this issue is needed. The time available to raise a matter in a Topical Issue debate is very short, but this is a major problem for families and the organisations that deal with the homeless. Perhaps the Minister of State might indicate whether the oversight group established by the Minister to monitor and measure progress has come up with any suggestions as to what might be done. He might also deal with the question of youth homelessness, which is a serious matter.

Deputy Kevin Humphreys

While this is a short debate, Members should have that discussion in any event. Deputy Ellis and I work in similar communities and I consider the homeless count to be merely an indicator. On a daily basis, homelessness is a far bigger issue than the number of people who are sleeping rough. I have encountered people who are sleeping on their friends' floors and who move around either weekly or daily. As for the complications of even getting onto the homeless list, one will see a queue of people outside Dublin City Council's homeless section. In addition, the hostels are overcrowded. From my experience, homelessness certainly is far more widespread than can be encompassed by counting the number of people who are sleeping rough. This issue must be tackled. I came through the city council and both former councillor Ellis and I probably could wallpaper our homes with the number of reports, strategies and everything else that has been produced. Had the money that was spent on those reports been spent on providing housing units, we might not be in this crisis.

We need a wider discussion on this. Perhaps the Minister of State will refer this back to the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, and the Minister, Deputy Phil Hogan, and get them to bring it back to the committee. Let us have a wider discussion on this. I am sick to my eye teeth and my heart is broken dealing on a daily and weekly basis with young families, some unemployed and some in employment, who just cannot get a home of their own. They might not show up in the figures for the homeless on the streets, but the problem is growing. The rough sleeping count is only a symptom. Let us get down to dealing with the real problem. As I said earlier, I represent a city centre constituency in which I can point to nearly 100 social units that have lain empty for between six months and two years. That is totally unacceptable. We, the Government and Parliament, must get to the root cause of this.

Deputy Dessie Ellis

Since 2008 there has been a cut of almost €1 billion in the housing budget. The National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, has only delivered 400 units. Next year, Dublin City Council will only build 18 houses, aside from the regeneration projects. This is an absolute tragedy. Local authorities are unable to turn over their properties because they do not have the money to do so. Where will we get the housing? A housing-led approach is one thing, but we need housing to adopt that approach. That is the problem. I have been dealing with people who are losing their houses because the banks are seeking to repossess them. They come from different parts of the country and they are being told that they must put themselves in a homeless situation. That is happening more often.

Time and again Deputy Humphreys and I have been told about solutions to homelessness and have seen documents produced to solve homelessness. We could paper the walls with them. We must get real about this. If we do not build more social housing, we face a major tragedy. I cannot see how this figure can be reached in 2016 on the basis of what is being done.

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

I agree wholeheartedly that the number of rough sleepers is only a symptom, an indication of a far more deeply rooted problem. However, the fact that the number of rough sleepers is slowly but surely reducing gives some hope that the overall issue of homelessness is being addressed in a meaningful way. The fact that last year 880 people moved from homelessness to independent living is another very strong indication that this Government has every intention of meeting its aim to end long-term homelessness by the end of 2016.

Homelessness funding, at a time when resources are extremely limited, has been substantially protected over the last number of years. This fact is important in the context of the wide-scale pressure for reductions in government spending across all Departments. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government has been overseeing State and local government expenditure exceeding €50 million per year in respect of the running costs of homeless facilities and associated services. There is also a considerable capital investment in homeless services on an annual basis. In addition, the HSE is spending over €30 million in respect of health and personal social care related supports.

The Government has every intention of meeting that target and the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, has the full support of the Government in that regard. The significant improvements that have been made over the past 24 months are a strong indication that the Government will meet that target by 2016.

Dáil Éireann debate - Thursday, 26 Sep 2013