There are 50 emergency beds available to accommodate homeless children in the Dublin area, all of which are specifically designated to care for children who are out of home. Details on the location of this accommodation are as follows:
Emergency beds available to accommodate homeless children in the Dublin area.
Residential Centres
|
Management
|
Number of Beds
|
Parkview Hostel, North Circular Road
|
Eastern Health Board
|
14
|
Sherrard House, Sherrard Street
|
Homeless Girls Society
|
14
|
Crosscare Residential Project, Eccles Street
|
Crosscare
|
14
|
Off the Streets Project, Stanhope Street
|
Focus Point
|
8
|
Total
|
|
50
|
Each of the centres can be accessed by the board's social workers and community child care workers. In the case of Parkview House, Sherrard House and Crosscare, two of the 14 beds in each centre are set aside for the exclusive use of the board's out-of-hours social work service. In addition to residential places, the board also has 23 emergency carer families which care for adolescents in crisis.
Section 5 of the Child Care Act, 1991, requires health boards to take such steps as are reasonable to make available suitable accommodation for homeless children up to 18 years. Health boards are developing a range of options to enable them to discharge their responsibilities under this section. These include: emergency hostels and other forms of residential accommodation; day care programmes for adolescents who are currently homeless or at risk of being homeless; out-of-hours social work services targeted at homeless children; and special foster care services for out-of-home adolescents.
As the Deputy will be aware, the problem of youth homelessness is mainly concentrated in the Eastern Health Board area. One of the board's most recent initiatives in response to this problem has been the establishment of an emergency short-term care facility which can cater for up to 14 young people who are temporarily out of home or are awaiting a more long-term placement.
Additionally, the 1995 child care action plan provided for a further range of important new child care developments including the provision of additional hostel and other residential places and an expansion of the board's out-of-hours social work service into a 24 hour crisis intervention service for all children.
I should also mention that the Health Estimate for 1996 includes provision for a further investment of £5 million in the child care services. This brings to £35 million on an annualised basis the total additional funding that has been provided for these services since 1993.
I am satisfied that these measures greatly strengthen the capacity of the health boards to provide appropriate accommodation and services for these vulnerable children.