Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 December 2017
10. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if he will report on the weekly actions he undertakes to put an end to child homelessness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49916/17]
View answerIt is approximately two and a half years since I made a complaint to the Ombudsman for Children, Mr. Niall Muldoon, about the conditions in which children were living in hotel rooms, guesthouses and emergency accommodation. I have also asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Katherine Zappone, what work is being done to address the longer term physical and mental health impacts of homelessness on children. The Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, told me yesterday that there were still 676 families and approximately 3,000 children in this type of accommodation. The Government and everyone who has served as Minister with responsibility for housing will be held to account for this in years to come, be it by way of tribunals or multi-party actions and so on. What is the Minister doing on a weekly basis to help the families mentioned?
I thank the Deputy for this question. One of the key commitments made in Rebuilding Ireland is that we will support homeless families and children to exit homelessness into independent tenancies. For homeless families residing in emergency accommodation, the long-term solution is to increase and accelerate the supply of homes. Rebuilding Ireland seeks to achieve this and in the period to 2021 some 50,000 social housing homes will be delivered. On child homelessness, a key objective is to cease using commercial hotels to accommodate homeless families, except in limited circumstances. I am committed to achieving this objective and continue to work with a range of partners to get to a point where families presenting to a housing authority as homeless will not have to rely on hotel accommodation.
Regarding the activities my Department and I are undertaking to address child homelessness, we are working with local authorities to accelerate the delivery of social housing for those who need it and while these more permanent housing solutions are being put in place, we are working with local authorities to deliver family hubs which are a first response only but do provide more suitable, safe and supported family living arrangements. Twelve hubs, providing 300 units of family accommodation, are operational and seven more, to accommodate more than 160 families, will be operational by the end of the year. More will follow in 2018.
On the provision of supports for homeless families in emergency accommodation, I liaise on a regular basis with my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive to ensure robust child protection measures, inspection arrangements and health supports are in place in emergency accommodation for families. I have also met the Ombudsman for Children and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commissioner to discuss issues in connection with homeless families. I will continue to work with all stakeholders on a sustained basis with a view to addressing family and child homelessness.
On the target date provided by the Minister, the target date of 1 July set by the Taoiseach in addressing this issue was not met. This is the second Christmas, or perhaps the third, many children will spend in a single room in a hotel or guesthouse. We have all heard heartbreaking stories from young mothers and couples about the impact this is having on children. Has the Minister visited any of the families involved and asked anybody in the Department to undertake an analysis of the physical and mental impact on families, particularly children, of living in this type of accommodation? The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Katherine Zappone, co-funded a study of food access and nutritional health among families living in emergency homeless accommodation which she has told me does not make for pleasant reading. This is an ongoing outrageous scandal. Unfortunately, not enough people in the country appear to be taking it with the seriousness with which it will be taken when what has happened in the period from 2010 is invigilated. As I said, the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, will be among those who will be held to account.
I should be held to account because it is my responsibility to get these families and children out of homelessness into permanent secure homes.
Why then does the Minister not declare a housing emergency?
I have visited a number of the family hubs where I met a number of families who were previously in hotel accommodation. Yesterday Focus Ireland launched two very important reports on the experiences of homeless families and families that had exited homelessness into family hubs and the impact it had had on them. I accept that the target of mid-July in taking families out of hotels was not met, but there had been an exceptional increase in the number of families presenting as homeless in the month previous. The hub model which is only a first response was criticised by many for many months. Some of the people who criticised it have now visited the hubs and met and heard from families on how much improved their situation is. There is now recognition that family hubs are the best first response in that we can provide wrap-around supports for families while working to move them towards permanent housing solutions. The evidence to date is that families are spending far less time in family hubs before moving to permanent accommodation than was the case when they were in hotels.
Everything is happening too slowly. The Taoiseach and the Minister recently laid the foundation stone for 84 homes at Clongriffin in the Dublin Bay North constituency where there are almost 7,000 families on the housing waiting list.
It is just far too slow. We still need to talk in terms of a housing emergency, and perhaps we need to talk about a housing executive for Dublin. The Minister has been talking about his affordable housing scheme for months. Where is it? Why does he not just bring it forward and start treating this as it should be treated, that is, as a complete emergency?
Finally, the Minister will have noted Dr. Rory Hearne's and Dr. Mary Murphy's study on hubs and their warning that they should not be used as family accommodation for more than three months. I wish to raise with the Minister very briefly the Department's own guidelines, Policy and Procedural Guidance for Housing Authorities in relation to Assisting Victims of Domestic Violence with Emergency and Long-term Accommodation Needs. We are coming to the end of the 16-day campaign to combat violence against women. A brilliant organisation in my constituency, Sonas, as well as Aoibhneas, have drawn my attention to the difficulties families coming out of refuge accommodation face in accessing accommodation because of the inflexibility of the local authorities' response to this. There are a number of gaps in the Department's guidelines that I would like the Minister to urgently address as well.
Homes are being built, including new social housing homes. We have just published the quarter three status report-----
The development in Clongriffin will not be completed until the first quarter of 2019. That is not good.
Let the Minister respond.
It is too slow.
Please, Deputy
Just under 2,000 homes are about to go on site across 92 schemes, we have 3,660 homes on site across 191 schemes, and just over 1,400 homes have been completed across 147 schemes. Social housing homes are being built. We are rapidly increasing the number of social housing homes being built by local authorities and housing bodies over what was built last year and the year before last. This is welcome progress and we will increase that number again next year. Importantly, we are seeing homes being built on the private side as well. The increase in the housing stock across the country generally will help us to deal with issues faced not only by people who need social housing homes-----
Meanwhile, these children are suffering.
-----but also people who need affordable homes. We are putting in every care and support we can into families in hubs, looking after the children. These families' experiences were one of the very first things brought to my attention on my appointment as Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, perhaps on the first or second day in the job. I have met with care workers working in hubs, and they are concerned about the long-term impacts on these children as they move into adulthood. That is why I am working with the Minister, Deputy Zappone, to ensure that every support possible is in place and why we are trying to get families out of hubs as quickly as possible. The evidence to date shows that the vast majority of families are spending less than six months in hubs-----
Or 18 months, or two years.
-----moving into more suitable accommodation as a result.
