Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to highlight a number of other aspects by referring to a home of which I know that has been providing accommodation for women who have been abused or made the difficult journey out of addiction and into recovery. Fifteen women live in the house. Incidentally, it is in danger of losing some of its funding. Between the 15 women, there are 11 children who are in care. The women are now in a position to take their children out of care and back into a family home, but they do not have accommodation. This is another group of children who are badly affected by our housing crisis. Perhaps the motive for those women who are on their recovery journeys out of addiction is to get their children back. Seventeen year olds and 18 year olds are coming out of care for whom the HSE cannot access accommodation.

I am involved with another group that works in the Dublin area with homeless women who are pregnant or have just had their babies. The group is receiving repeated calls from maternity hospitals about taking women in, but it only has one set of premises. One of the women who has been there for a number of months is ready to move on, but there is nowhere for her to go. She is depriving someone with a newborn in the maternity hospital of a place with the group. A woman from Kildare with a premature baby cannot get anyone in Kildare to accept rent supplement. She is seeking a place in the house in Dublin.

There are 21 supported accommodation places for pregnant women or women with babies in Dublin who are homeless. We have children in care because of homelessness. This statistic is not being taken into account. If we examined the cost of foster care as opposed to the cost of providing homes for people, there would probably be a cost saving. Under the Constitution, our State guarantees protection for the family. The family is "indispensable to the welfare of the Nation". I listened to all that the Tánaiste stated. In time, those solutions will make a difference. In the meantime, though, the reality for those in emergency accommodation like bed and breakfasts and hotels, particularly children and the other groups that I mentioned, is appalling.

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