Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This hotel will eventually become a hub. A hub is not a permanent form of accommodation. It is just a first response to make sure we can get families who are homeless out of hotels, because they should not be in hotels. I had an opportunity to visit one of the hubs that is under construction at Mater Dei, where 50 families will be housed. It is a fantastic facility with play areas, a playground, a media room for children and homework clubs. It will have all the necessary supports for families who find themselves in these incredibly difficult situations to move on quickly from the hub to other more permanent and sustainable accommodation solutions. While they are making that transition, however, they will at least be in the hub, a new environment with all the supports required, rather than being in a hotel, which is not the appropriate place and does not have the type of certainty, even day to day, a family would need.

The hotel in question would not have been used but for the fact that a choice was faced by the local authority, not last night but previously, as to whether families that presented would have to sleep rough. This hotel was made safe so they would not have to sleep rough. It was only ten rooms at the property on one floor. It was only for an emergency situation. I do not mean the emergency situation for all families that are homeless and in hotels, but an emergency contingency. Dublin City Council and an independent consultant put in place all the necessary precautions and requirements to ensure the safety of any families placed there. That included the employment of two fire marshals who were on duty while the families were there overnight. Those precautions and measures were put in place when there were families at the premises. There were no families there last night. Dublin City Council met with Dublin fire services yesterday and will be working with them over the next few days to implement further precautions to enable the facility to continue to be utilised for contingency purposes only following the completion of works on the additional precautions.

The Deputy mentioned housing assistance payments. These are only one part of the solution. There are other parts. I should also mention the new HAP homeless payment which was implemented earlier this year. That gives even greater flexibility in terms of negotiating a sustainable rent. The HAP homeless solution is working and it is being rolled out to other parts of the country.

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