Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their attendance, for the evidence they have given thus far and for the work they are doing. I imagine it is not easy to find the time to come in.

This is something I often think about and it is heart-breaking really. It relates to children who are sleeping in emergency accommodation, bed-and-breakfast accommodation, hotels or even hubs - wherever they happen to be. Is there any support available? Those children are probably the most in need of mental health support but are possibly among the least likely to receive it. I am keen to hear from the witnesses on this.

It must be soul-destroying to live in a hotel but to never be able to bring friends over and so on. Are there any specific supports available for children? I do not suggest it is a bed of roses for the parents either, but I am thinking of the children in particular in this situation. When my daughter was younger, there was a constant stream of her friends in and out of the house and she was in and out of their houses too. We would regard that as a normal upbringing – although she might disagree with that. Anyway, is there anything specifically targeted at children? We learned recently that the HSE child and adult mental health services units are running at approximately 50% or 53% of what they should be in terms of the staff recommended in A Vision for Change. Are there any targeted resources for that group?

The next question is probably for both groups. It relates to the best place. Dr. O'Reilly made the point that the services need to meet people where they are. I know there are small groups working in this way, but what is the national picture? Let us consider that statement from Dr. O'Reilly. She said the services need to meet people where they are. Are the services meeting people where they are? In the case of people who are homeless at the moment, are the services not meeting them where they are? Is there a national policy in this regard? Are staff members designated to ensure that the services meet them? Are we talking about a number of specific pilot programmes in urban areas? Ms Randall referenced the urban-rural split in services. Is the picture uniform throughout the country?

Related to that, there are people who are not necessarily presenting as homeless and who are living in cars or even tents along the canals in Dublin. They may not necessarily be engaging with the homeless services. Is there that level of outreach for people who are not using homeless services but who are providing such accommodation for themselves, even though it might involve sleeping in a tent or a car?

During the debate about supervised injecting centres, we got distracted into thinking that it was only about the centres. While the provision of these centres is important, it is a small part of a much bigger picture. What are the witnesses’ views on the bigger picture and what supports should be in place? These centres will be fighting a losing battle if there are no support services for people. What is the national picture on this and the urban-rural split on this?

Senator Colm Burke raised the issue of bedsits. There were good reasons that regulations for bedsits were introduced, namely, substandard communal facilities such as shared bathrooms. I would not necessarily agree the introduction of these regulations was a massive contributing factor to homelessness, but it was a factor. There is talk now about perhaps revisiting those regulations. For me, that sets off alarm bells because many bedsits were closed because they were unsuitable. Would the witnesses see the return of bedsits and accommodation of that sort as a retrograde or progressive step? There is obviously a need for single people to have accommodation. However, having been in many bedsits as a student, I am not necessarily convinced that living in a single self-contained room is ideal for a person with mental health issues or someone who has experienced homelessness. What are the witnesses' views on that?