Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Unfortunately, it does not involve just one case. The Focus Ireland intake team carried out research in April and May. In April there were 35 families who were turned away, many of whom were subsequently deemed to be in need of emergency accommodation. They were turned away from the local authority because, acting on the criteria it had been given by the homeless agency, it considered they were not in need, primarily because they had come from their parents' home. The figure increased to 55 in May. Subsequently many of the families concerned were deemed to be in need of emergency accommodation. I am not asking the Minister to micro-manage. He should not be involved in individual decisions, but clearly there is a problem with the guidelines that the homeless agency and the local authorities have developed. However, I am not blaming them. This is the result of the very difficult decisions council staff have had to make when trying to determine if somebody has a need. Ultimately, the problem is the lack of emergency accommodation. There is a need to review the criteria. I urge the Minister to consider that proposition.

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