Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am not questioning or do not doubt any of that, although in addition to people, including ourselves, seeing hubs being constructed, we should also be taking to the families who are currently living in hubs. They would give a much more insightful explanation of the difficulties that families experience, notwithstanding the improvements from hotel and bed and breakfast accommodation to hubs, but none of that is the point I was making. Some 70% of families with children in emergency accommodation currently have been there more than six months, and 40% have been there more than one year. We currently have approximately 200 families who are approaching their second year in emergency accommodation. It does not matter how good a facility is when it is set up, it needs to be subject to an independent inspection. The word "independent' is important because that means independent of the funders, that is, the Minister's Department, but also independent of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive. If many other aspects of residential care funded by the State are subject to independent inspection such as by HIQA, I cannot see any compelling argument as to why the Minister would not have the same kind of regime for all Department of Housing, Planning Community and Local Government funded emergency accommodation.

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