Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 December 2021
89. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department will provide funding to ensure children living in emergency homeless accommodation can access transport to school; and if funding is currently available for this purpose. [62137/21]
View answer90. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will engage with the Minister for Education to ensure that children living in emergency homeless accommodation can access transport to school. [62138/21]
View answer91. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will engage with the Minister for Social Protection to allow families in emergency accommodation to access an exceptional needs payment to pay for taxis for their children to go to school. [62139/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 89 to 91, inclusive, together.
My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at the local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities. Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988 sets out the purposes for which costs may be incurred by housing authorities in respect of the provision of homeless accommodation and related services.
My Department has provided funding towards an initiative to provide access to free public transport for essential school journeys for homeless families residing in temporary emergency accommodation in the Dublin Region. The Dublin Region Homeless Executive oversees the implementation of this initiative and, working in partnership with the National Transport Authority, has put arrangements in place for the provision of Leap cards to the families concerned.
Outside of this arrangement, the Community Welfare Service of the Department of Social Protection may consider, on a case-by-case basis, providing for costs associated with the transport needs of homeless families under the Exceptional Needs Payments scheme. This provision is available to all homeless families outside of the Dublin Region.
