Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank everyone for being here and for the work they do every day. We had representatives in from the Department and the DRHE earlier. We all know the solution is just an increased supply of permanent homes. The witnesses have all poignantly articulated the real human experience of homelessness. Homelessness itself is traumatic and challenging and can have lasting effects, but when people are then put into emergency accommodation in an area where there is a significant over-concentration of such emergency accommodation, as is the case in the north inner city, the situation is compounded. The capacity of the existing community is reduced, so the support needs are actually increased, compounded and magnified.

I turn to the representatives of Dublin Town because it is the only geographically-based organisation. In its report from two years ago, the committee raised the issue of an over-concentration of emergency accommodation. I have also raised this point. We all know that being in emergency accommodation is far from ideal. It is substandard and short term. It is meant to be temporary. Unfortunately, as has been articulated and we all know, it is not temporary and short term enough. In the north inner city, we have this massive over-concentration of it. The specific request the committee made of the stakeholders, namely, the Department and the DRHE, was for a commitment to unravel and reverse this over-concentration. How does Dublin Town feel its engagement with the DRHE and the Department is going? Is there a commitment to unravel that over-concentration?