Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her reply. The Minister referred to a study on food access and nutrition. Will this report be published or will it be made available to Deputies? Earlier today, Members spoke about the accountability of Ministers and the accountability of this House. After the past three or four years of watching families who are homeless ending up in hotel rooms and in hubs, it seems to me that Ministers will be held accountable on this in future Dáileanna and maybe future tribunals. It is something to which the Minister needs to give daily attention. In my experience and from the reports I receive, families have warned us of longer-term physical and mental health impacts on children of living in accommodation without cooking facilities, without space for babies to crawl or learn to walk, with missed visits from public health nurses and so on. These heartbreaking stories bring home to us how inappropriate these locations are, especially the hotel room situation. Deputies get calls from desperate couples and mothers, who realise that their children are really suffering day in and day out because of these conditions.

With regard to family hubs, I am aware that the Minister has probably looked at the excellent study by Dr. Rory Hearne and Dr. Mary Murphy on the operation of family hubs for the housing of families who are homeless. The clear indication of the report is that three months is the very maximum period a family should be in a hub. It is a desperate situation for those families who are suffering.

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