Ms Fiona Ryan:

This is a new service we set up in response to the housing and homelessness crisis and as an alternative to refuges. We pioneered it in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area with the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown local authority. It must be congratulated on its far-sighted approach in this regard. Dr. Holt carried out the evaluation of the service, which was overwhelmingly positive. My understanding is that there was no refuge in that area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, where there is a combined city population equivalent to Cork and Limerick. There are four refuges in the greater Dublin area in a population where one in four or one in three, depending on one’s estimation of the population, lives. We came up with an alternative. The units are basically self-contained apartments or houses, usually apartments because if they are on the second floor they can be outfitted with security. We liaise with the local Garda Síochána and provide intensive visiting support. It is a new service that is getting off the ground.