Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I accept the Deputy's good faith and am not denying it. I am just saying that the information we received does not match that of the Deputy.. I am willing to have that checked out because we are clear that we wish to be able to say with confidence where we know we have a bed available for everybody. I monitor the Dublin situation closely. We are able to track the beds that are available every night, so I am clear about that. I do not have all the figures for Cork for every night of the week but I have been told that the average is ten. I will have that checked. The Minister could not have been clearer about this. I sat beside him when he told the local authorities that, under the winter initiative, it is essential that there are beds available. We know that in extreme weather conditions, such as those that will occur tonight and tomorrow night, people who do not usually avail of services will come forward and use them. That is also a chance to help them and perhaps save them by making other services available to them in the long term. We want to be in a position to have beds available. If they are not, I assure the Deputy that we will address the matter.

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