Dáil Éireann Debate, Friday - 16 September 2016
688. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Question No. 514 of 31 May 2016, the average length of stay for families housed in the 148 emergency accommodation units in use by the New Communities Units. [24630/16]
View answer690. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Social Protection if the new communities unit shares information on the persons they accommodate with the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government or other authority with responsibility for housing. [24632/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 688 and 690 together.
As the Deputy is aware from the response to an earlier parliamentary question, the New Communities Unit (NCU) of my Department offers assistance to families who are primarily non-Irish, homeless and generally without recourse to any weekly income. The main focus of this unit is to ensure that families with an entitlement receive an income maintenance payment, under the terms of the relevant legislation. In addition, non-Irish homeless families have been referred to this unit directly by the Central Placement Service, operated on behalf of the four local authorities by Dublin City Council, and the staff in the NCU have facilitated booking these people into emergency accommodation. This accommodation is sourced and funded by Dublin City Council under section 10 of the Housing Act 1988. The practice, whereby staff in the NCU act as booking agents in such circumstances, is a residual one from when the NCU was based in the HSE. Officials from my Department are considering the appropriateness and nature of the NCU’s involvement in the delivery of this service at present.
Information in relation to the average length of stay of families booked to emergency accommodation by the NCU is not collated or retained by my Department. In facilitating the booking of people to emergency accommodation, the NCU contacts the accommodation provider directly to make the booking. Notification in relation to those persons accommodated in emergency accommodation is part of the reporting relationship between the accommodation provider and its funder and the NCU does not have a role in this.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
