Dr. Niall Muldoon:

We are still considering the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill but our previous advice, that we feel it is discriminatory in the context of the Equal Status Act, was very clear. We made a recommendation that the Equal Status Act be adjusted to take away the barrier in religious schools. We are also disappointed to see a 25% derogation for past pupils. We also made a recommendation on this, that there should be no derogation for past pupils. We feel that is discriminatory to children who move into an area, particularly Traveller children, whose parents are likely to have no background in second-level school and may not even be in the right area, but also people returning to their area. These are the two points I can make immediately and to which we already referred, but I expect to consider the Bill in more detail in the near future.

In the action plan published yesterday, Rebuilding Ireland, there are many very positive things from our point of view. We met with the Department with responsibility for housing last week and we are pleased to see some of our recommendations, particularly the use of the children and young people's services committees to engage in the area of housing to make sure that children are properly facilitated. I am pleased to see that there is a section on children. It is crucial that we see them as an important part of what we are about because homelessness has affected them so strongly now. I met with a very brave young seven-and-a-half-year-old girl who came into my office after having written a letter saying that she was looking for a new home, having been homeless for four and a half years. She is a fabulous young girl who has moved, I think, 11 times, trying to stay safe. She is very clear that she would thrive under a safe, secure, stable house.

The area of domestic violence is one that has made a special contribution to the crisis we have at the moment. There are not enough refuges, which leaves children and parents having to declare themselves homeless. That is a very difficult scenario for them because they are not only trying to find a place to live, but are also trying to find a place to live that is safe and perhaps away from an abusive partner. We are very aware of that and it needs to be considered as well.

The action plan allows for the inclusion of safe guidance and boundary codes for emergency accommodation, and we have had complaints in that regard as well. This is where children and parents have been in houses and accommodation that were not designed for families, which is something that the Department with responsibility for housing is now very clear about, that it needs to generate two-bedroom and three-bedroom emergency accommodation so that there is a facility there for families when they need to use it. I hope we will get to the stage where we will use them less and less but they need to be there because the old stock was designed for the single man or woman or couples so it did not need to be suitable to the same degree for families. We need privacy, safety and security dealt with in that context. We need the play areas and the ability to get to school so, again, the school transport option is very positive.

However, I am very clear that the main issue is that those affected can move away from bed and breakfast accommodation and hotels as an option. It will take time to get there but we need to know that in years to come emergency accommodation will involve proper, solid accommodation, as opposed to a temporary bed and breakfast unit, the reservation for which can be moved because of, say, the holding of a concert the following day. That is totally inappropriate. It is therefore a very positive commitment from our point of view. I am sure I am only touching on some of the matters in the action plan, but that is what I have to say from our initial look at it. Deputy O'Sullivan also referred to the UNCRC recommendations within our objectives. I will refer her to Karen for a response to that.