Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 December 2017
733. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the legislation, statutory instruments or departmental guidelines that permitted the use of rooms in hotels, guest houses and hostels for emergency accommodation for families and children in the period since 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53899/17]
View answerUnder the Housing Act 1988, housing authorities are empowered to provide assistance to persons that they regard as homeless; Section 2 of the Act sets out the requirements for a person to be regarded as homeless by a housing authority for the purposes of the Act, while Section 10 sets out additional provisions, including that any person regarded as homeless may be placed into temporary emergency accommodation, which the housing authority may arrange itself or which may be operated by a State-funded service provider. Under these provisions housing authorities’ powers to deal with homelessness are broad and flexible allowing them to respond quickly and effectively to the various needs of cases that may present to them. I am satisfied that housing authorities are making every effort to provide the most suitable accommodation to homeless households seeking emergency accommodation.
As part of the response to the commitment contained in Rebuilding Ireland that commercial hotels and B&B's should only be used as emergency accommodation for families in limited circumstances, housing authorities are delivering a number of family-focused, supported temporary accommodation facilities, also referred to as ‘family hubs’. The long-term solution to the current homeless issue is to increase the supply of homes and accordingly Rebuilding Ireland is designed to accelerate all types of housing supply. It is intended that the long-term housing needs of households in emergency accommodation will be met as soon as possible through a range of social housing supports, such as the enhanced Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme and general social housing allocations.
