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

It is not about who and where are the children. I will go into a little more detail on some of the issues, as explained to me by the DRHE. With regard to identity and fraud, or misuse of cards, the cards must be used only by those who are eligible and each user must, therefore, be registered and the cards not transferred to someone else. There are some data protection concerns. The DRHE needs consent to have homeless families' details of individual children so as to estimate age, location, likely usage and the distance from hotel accommodation to school. Much of this can be addressed through information contained with consent as when the five Leap cards were issued. The system must also be user friendly. A system for topping up cards, including the amounts, which is normally done at source by card buyers, means that from an administrative point of view a judgment needs to be made. Some 90% of homeless families reside in the Dublin area. This is about helping as many people as possible and as quickly as possible so it will be rolled out through Dublin initially. In the Deputy's area of the mid-west, I understand there are 22 homeless families and I suggest that if children of families need to use public transport to get to school, an application should be made to the community welfare officer. I would be happy to lend my support to that application.

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