Ms Mary Hurley:

Deputy O'Dowd referred to rough sleeping, which is the real visual aspect of homelessness, and is the aspect that Ms Gleeson and her team, and the NGOs, work so hard on to ensure that there are beds and accommodation for people who want to avail of them. There should always be accommodation for those who want it. One of the things we have been doing is working very closely with the four Dublin local authorities over the last number of months.

The winter is approaching, and the question of temporary and permanent accommodation arises. We will have an additional 200 beds in place by Christmas. We have been working with the local authorities to improve the quality of that accommodation so that people can stay there for the duration of the day, get the medical supports they require, and that they can link in with services so that the Housing First plan in place, including agreed targets for each local authority area, can be met. Everyone is now aware of what the requirements are and what their target is. The objective is that the persons in emergency beds will transition into that accommodation. We have a plan in place, which is why the one-bed units, which Deputy Ó Broin referred to earlier, are so important. We are working very closely on it. We had a 40% reduction in rough sleeping in March. The total was 110 persons. That is still far too many people, and we know that, and we will be working to bring that number down. Emergency and temporary beds are coming on stream to deal with the numbers of people coming forward.