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

I thank the Minister for his response. As he knows, it is four years since the tragic death of Mr. Jonathan Corry, a young rough sleeper, on the streets just outside this building. What became clear from that case is that even when beds are available in the emergency accommodation system on a given night, and even when local authority or voluntary sector staff engage with rough sleepers, there can still be many significant barriers to people feeling comfortable, safe and secure in emergency accommodation. It is particularly the case for people with complex mental health needs and specifically for those who may have gone through residential detoxification and are genuinely scared to go into dormitory-style hostels because of a fear of relapse.

I am not disputing the additional spending on emergency accommodation or the availability of beds but I am highlighting a more particular problem. There is a cohort of people with very complex needs, as the Minister mentioned. There is emergency accommodation available in Dublin city, for example, and it does not provide them with safe, secure and appropriate emergency accommodation. There are also people, like the young woman who died tragically in Bray earlier this month, living in a part of the country with no emergency accommodation whatever. I am asking the Minister to consider the specific issue and see if there is a way of ensuring these people have safe, secure and appropriate emergency accommodation, which may not be available currently in Dublin and certainly is not available in other parts of the country.

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