Policy responsibility for homeless young people, in so far as it extends to my Department, relates to children under 18 and any child welfare and protection concerns that may arise in the context of the Child Care Act 1991. Children under 16 who present as being homeless to emergency services are taken into care. Children aged 16 and 17 may be taken into care, or provided a service under section 5 of the Child Care Act 1991 (accommodation for homeless children). Young people who were formerly in the care of the State and presently in receipt of aftercare services have their accommodation needs identified as part of this support.
The accommodation needs of children who are in the care of their parents where the family is homeless are the responsibility of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and local authorities.
The Child and Family Agency collects information on homeless children in respect of the services which the Agency funds and delivers. Emergency, short-term or long-term accommodation is provided for young people who present as out of home and who are placed under Section 5 of the Child Care Act 1991. Data are published on the Agency’s website and data for previous years can be found in the Review of Adequacy reports published under section 8 of the Child Care Act 1991.
A child can only be received into the care of the Child and Family Agency where there are welfare or protection concerns. Homelessness as part of a family group is not, in and of itself, a basis for seeking to receive a child into care.
In cases where there are welfare or protection concerns in relation to children in families presenting as homeless, the reporting of such concerns to the Child and Family Agency is governed by Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2011). This national policy sets out the non-statutory child protection requirements which are in place for all sectors of society. The Children First Bill 2014, which is currently progressing through the Oireachtas, will place key elements of the Children First National Guidance on a statutory basis once it is enacted and commenced. In parallel to the legislative process, the existing Children First National Guidance is currently being revised and updated.
As the Deputy will be aware, on the 4th of December 2014, Minister Kelly hosted a special summit on homelessness to reaffirm the Government's commitment to end involuntary long-term homelessness, including that of families with children, by the end of 2016. A number of actions arising from the summit were formalised into an action plan to address homelessness, and substantial progress has been made in implementing that plan. Overall progress is overseen by the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy and Public Service Reform. The plan and progress reports are available on the website of Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Additionally, the local authorities collect data in relation to the number of dependants, as part of a family, who are homeless.
The December 2014 Action Plan to Address Homelessness includes a commitment for Tusla – the Child and Family Agency and Dublin City Council to co-ordinate operations to ensure that services are fully responsive to the particular protection and welfare needs that might arise for families in emergency accommodation.
Tusla has had meetings with Focus Ireland, the Department of Social Protection and Dublin City Council in relation to vulnerable families and issues facing care leavers. Tusla intends to create a multi-agency protocol to be clear about individual agency and multi-agency responsibilities with regard to homelessness. I understand that work on this protocol has commenced.
With regard to communication with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government on the issue of homelessness, there continues to be on-going communication and co-operation between our Departments and related agencies as part of a wider Government approach to addressing this issue.
