Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. It is important that he acknowledged that we could do a lot better in some of those areas. Exactly as the Minister said, there are people who actually feel safer on the street than in some of the very badly run private emergency accommodation out there. There are different standards between different operators. As the Minister said, the survey done by Mendicity showed that more than 90% of those in private emergency accommodation who were surveyed had either been assaulted or robbed in private emergency accommodation. It is appalling that people are in that vulnerable situation in accommodation funded by the State, albeit not run by the State. As the Minister said, it is important to have the standards but it is their application that matters. There is no one better to ensure they are applied and to carry out inspections than HIQA.