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

Along with my Government colleagues and all Members of this House, I am committed to supporting children and families who are living in emergency accommodation because they are homeless. We are making progress on the actions in Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. I wish our progress could be quicker and this is particularly the case as we approach Christmas, which will be stressful and challenging for families living in emergency accommodation. Deputy O’Sullivan’s question covers many different initiatives. I will attempt to answer as much as possible now and I will cover any additional questions in the supplementary answers. The Deputy has specifically asked about the free public transport for children to go to school, after school and community activities. In October, families received five 24 hour family Leap cards. These are valid for use on all Dublin transport systems, allowing for family days out at weekends or during holiday periods.

Arrangements are being finalised to provide Leap cards for children who need to use public transport to attend school. We expect these to be available in the new year and ideally as soon as possible after children return to school. There have been some challenges in designing these cards and I am happy to give the Deputy further details if she needs them.

In respect of the safety guidance voluntary code, the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, DRHE, developed draft national quality standards for homeless services. Tusla was included in the membership of the advisory group which provided the feedback on the development of these standards. In addition, there is a joint protocol between Tusla and the DRHE governing child welfare and protection matters which is fully operational. It is planned to roll out a similar protocol in Limerick, Cork and Galway in 2017. It will need to be tailored to each area due to the different structures in place.

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On the various other actions under points 1.5, 1.6 and 1.7 we are also making progress. Tomorrow, I will be announcing details of a new programme to ease the burden of child care costs for homeless families. We have reached agreement on prioritising young people leaving care for the capital assistance scheme. Tusla is meeting tomorrow with a front-line provider to start work on a service level agreement to support pregnant women who are homeless. Research into the food and nutrition needs of families in emergency accommodation will be completed early in the New Year. I am happy to give more details on any of these initiatives to the Deputy.

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