Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister cannot come in here and absolve himself entirely of responsibility for those people who leave the Defence Forces and who will have been institutionalised in some respects with the result that they become homeless. The Minister says his predecessors did likewise. I say they were wrong to approach the issue in that way and I say that the Minister is wrong now and that he has a responsibility to look at what is a manageable problem but one that none the less requires some level of ministerial involvement. It costs about €600,000 to run the three hostels in Athlone, Dublin and Letterkenny. The question is whether there is a need for hostel accommodation in other parts of the country, such as in the southern command area and in the Curragh area. If the Minister proceeds to evict the families in the Curragh, there will be a need for emergency accommodation for those people. This is a real issue and the Minister cannot pass on that responsibility entirely. I agree the Departments with responsibility for the environment and health have some responsibility, but the Minister also has a responsibility in this area.

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