Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Being homeless is distressing and stressful for children and adults alike. In the context of the Child Care Act 1991, my Department has policy responsibility for children under 18 years of age who present as "out of home" without their parent or guardian.

Children under the age of 16 years who present as homeless without their parent or guardian are taken into care. Children aged 16 years and 17 years may be taken into care or provided with a service under section 5 of the Child Care Act 1991, which deals with accommodation for homeless children.

Children who are homeless and in emergency accommodation are in the care of their parent or parents. Given the clearly challenging circumstances in which families in emergency accommodation find themselves, I do not believe that residing in emergency accommodation, in and of itself, should be the basis for taking children into care. Where there are no welfare or protection concerns, Tusla’s role is to provide family support where required.

Tusla has agreed a joint protocol with the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, DRHE. This governs child welfare protection matters for children in emergency accommodation. It is fully operational in the DRHE area and it is intended to roll it out across the State. It will be extended to Galway, Limerick and Cork in 2017.

My Department is working closely with Tusla to provide additional supports for families in emergency accommodation and those at risk of homelessness.

All of our family resource centres, FRCs, are working with people who are experiencing homelessness. This was confirmed this week at a meeting of the family resource centre forum. Many FRCs have already developed a local response to the needs of families in emergency accommodation.

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