Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I accept what the Minister says, but this is not about taking children into care. The nub of the question is about children in emergency accommodation and the timeframe for that. The reason I tabled this question today is that recently I tabled the same parliamentary question and the answer I received is the same as what the Minister just said. It stated that the policy responsibility for homelessness in so far as it extends to the Minister's Department relates to children under 18 years of age and any child welfare and protection concerns that might arise in the context of the Child Care Act 1991. My concern is the length of time that children are left in accommodation for the homeless, that is, being moved from one bed and breakfast room to another, over and back across the city and the uncertainty of that. Who is there to protect the child? The Minister said there are no protection issues, but we do not know that because we are not watching. We are not vetting where we are sending families when they are going from one bed and breakfast setting to another. That is where I am seeking the support of Tusla.

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