asked the Minister for Health if he will make a statement on the findings and recommendations of the Focus Point survey of homeless children in Dublin and country wide; and the proposals, if any, he has to respond to same.
17.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Reports on Young Homeless.
4.
asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the report published by the Streetwise group, which suggests that there are at least 700 people under 18 years of age homeless in this country; the measures the Government intends to take to deal with the problem of homeless juveniles; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 and 17 together. I am aware of the report referred to by Deputies Flaherty and McCartan. The Government have been concerned since taking office, at the problems of disadvantaged youth and in particular those of young people out of home. A sum of £4 million was accordingly set aside last November out of the national lottery fund for major developments for youth groups particularly at risk, such as young homeless, young travellers and substance abusers. Last week the Government announced grants totalling over £3.7 million to development services for young people at risk. The allocation included a sum in excess of £1 million to assist voluntary and statutory bodies, in particular health boards, dealing with young people out of home throughout the country. I am confident that such a substantial allocation will make a significant contribution to the provision of appropriate services at local level. A number of the organisations affiliated to the Streetwise National Coalition, which produced the report referred to by the Deputies, will benefit from the additional funding.
Does the Minister intend to take on board the specific recommendation in this report, and the four other major reports on child care in the last ten years, that it is essential that the Department of Health undertake statutory responsibility for the care of those in the 16 to 18 years old category? This group have been allowed fall through a gap in our services. Will the Department take on board the statutory responsibility, in the context of the Children Bill in particular, for that group about whom the report was so concerned?
At present the health boards have responsibility for children at risk up to and including 16 years of age. It is hoped in the new Children (Care and Protection) Bill to change the definition of "child" to include those up to 18 years of age. This will put the onus on health boards to make provision for young people out of home up to 18 years of age.
Would the Minister accept that while money is obviously important to provide accommodation and services, it is also essential that there be co-ordination between the public authorities, the corporation, the health boards and the voluntary organisations, to ensure the provision of a wide range of services, such as family counselling and mediation, and that there is also a need for specific legislative responsibility on local authorities to provide accommodation for homeless young people?
I agree with the Deputy. This has been recognised in dispersing the money from the national lottery. An interdepartmental committee with representatives from the Departments of Education, Health, the Environment, Labour, Justice, Social Welfare and Roinn na Gaeltachta was set up to advise the Minister for Education in dispensing the lottery funds. This is recognition by the Government of the need for co-ordinating in this area.
Does the Minister propose to have the miscellaneous housing Bill, which is before the House, amended to impose specific responsibility on the local authorities to provide accommodation for the homeless?
That would seem to be the responsibility of another Minister.
The Bill does not impose responsibility on the local authorities in this regard. Is the Minister concerned that the Streetwise report indicates that on at least two occasions, they came across cases where the community welfare officers were giving one way fares to London to homeless people, and that that is an entirely unacceptable way of dealing with the homeless problem?
The report raises a number of issues which need to be addressed — young homeless people squatting, sleeping rough in emergency accommodation and so on. My Department are looking at the report and we will be addressing the areas for which we have responsibility.
Does the Minister accept the point made in the report about the total absence of facilities for emotionally disturbed and difficult young people and those with substance abuse problems? Would he indicate whether the allocations he has made recently will result in any provision for the category of young people who find themselves rejected by the voluntary bodies who are unable to deal with them, or who deliberately get into trouble with the law if they are to find a place to stay when they have been made homeless as a result of their social and emotional problems?
Is this in relation to drug abusers?
No, emotionally disturbed difficult young people who find themselves unacceptable in most of the voluntarily-run homes — it is a very specific problem throughout the Dublin area — where the voluntary bodies are refusing to accept these particularly troublesome children who just get left aside on the streets. Could the Minister say, from the way in which recent funds have been allocated, whether this gap is being met and, if not, would he undertake to examine it closely because it has been identified specifically in this report?
I will examine that question raised by the Deputy. We received the report on 5 May only. We have not as yet prepared a full response to it but we will be doing so as soon as possible.
Would the Minister accept that the scale of homelessness indicated in this report is one that took everybody by surprise, indicating that it existed not in major urban areas only but in practically every town; indeed, in the town of Wexford there are ten identified homeless young people. Would the Minister consider in co-operation with his colleague, the Minister for the Environment, establishing a special task force to tackle what must be a totally unacceptable social circumstance, in which under-age youngsters are left without homes, shelter or parental guidance in practically all our major towns?
As I said to Deputy Flaherty, we received the report within the past few days only. Therefore, I am not in a position to say what will be our full response but we will be responding fully to it. As far as my Department are concerned, Deputies can take it that we will be discharging our responsibility.