Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is good to hear some positive initiatives. I had a fear, given that many issues were taking up the attention of the Minister and the House, that housing and homelessness, in particular how they affect vulnerable young people living in such situations, would get lost along the way. We are shoring up problems for the future because young people do not have access to proper cooked meals - a lot of fast food and takeaways are being eaten. There are issues regarding laundry, privacy, homework and after-school activities. Schools in my constituency are working to try to compensate for the fact that children are living in emergency accommodation.

It is a difficult task, but there should be a time frame regarding how long people stay in emergency accommodation, following which they are of absolute priority to get out of the accommodation. Is the Minister having discussions withthe Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, on this?

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