Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 63 and 68 together. The national youth homelessness strategy was developed in 2001. It is therefore appropriate that, some ten years later, we review progress and set new targets. A review of progress in 2008 by the HSE in conjunction with other agencies found that significant progress had been made, especially in interagency co-operation, early prevention and an out of hours service. These improved practices led to earlier identifications and interventions with children and young people under 18 years within their communities.

There has been an information deficit in this area, which is surprising because there should not have been. Work is under way to improve the quality of information on the number of young people under 18 who are homeless in order to establish in what areas services are working well and where further improvements are needed. It is encouraging that the Dublin region homeless executive informed the HSE that it did not find any child under 18 years of age sleeping rough in Dublin during the sleeping rough headcount in November 2011.

We need better information. I have set up a system and will be able to give Deputies further information at the end of March. The information now being collected will tell us the number of children placed in youth homelessness centres for more than four consecutive nights or more than ten separate nights over a year, the number of children in care in a specified youth homeless centre, the number of referrals being made to emergency out of hours place of safety services and the number of children placed with the emergency out of hours safety service. Those figures will tell us a lot more and give a more complete picture of the experience of young people in regard to homelessness.

Children who were referred to as homeless fall into three groups: children who mainly reside with their families but due to an emergency need care and accommodation immediately; children and young people who are defined as at risk of homelessness, such as children who might be staying with friends but do not have a stable base; and children and young people who are found to be sleeping rough.

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