Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Given the weekend weather forecast, it immediately sprang to my mind that 160 people are sleeping rough on the streets. On Tuesday morning I put down a Topical Issue matter on this issue but it was not accepted for debate, so I raised it on the Order of Business on Tuesday. The Minister said he had been alerted that the cold weather initiative, which is ongoing since November, had been activated and was upping its game. I was told there were beds in the system and that the outreach teams were sufficiently filled and would be going out in the following days. Yesterday, information started filtering through from the inner city homeless and housing group that they had been out on Tuesday night and had met 86 people who were sleeping rough. One of the team leaders rang for beds on four occasions but no beds were available. They called on their phone and can prove that happened. In that case, people who wanted emergency beds did not get them. The group were out again last night and were in contact with 98 people sleeping rough. Six of these people were in Store Street Garda station, four of whom got beds, although the others did not want to go in. We know there are many reasons people do not want to go in, given the conditions they face.

The All Together Now homeless outreach team met a man on Tuesday night who was hungry and freezing, so they gave him food, gloves, a hat and a thermal foil blanket. He had spent the whole of Monday day, Monday night and Tuesday out on the street. The team rang Housing First but no bed was available on Tuesday night. He was directed to the freefone but he had no mobile phone and there are only six public phones operating in the inner city at the moment. Here was a man who was literally told to go away and come in at 10.30, which is what he had to do. The inner city homeless group has said that, last night, one man they were dealing with did not want to go anywhere and he was suicidal. He had been beaten up, so they called an ambulance for him and he was brought to hospital.

This is happening on the streets. Fr. Peter McVerry was on radio today to tell a similar story of a man who knocked on his door. When he rang the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, it said he would have to go to the Garda station because it was his first time putting himself forward for emergency accommodation. The man had no identification and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive said the protocol was that he could come down and get a sleeping bag but it could not take him in.

We are in a serious spell of cold weather this week. It is irresponsible not to take in somebody who is seeking emergency accommodation. Will the Minister of State clarify how many beds are vacant in the system? I know 320 single beds were set up late last year and we have been told there are vacant beds in the system. Considering what happened over recent nights, particularly Tuesday night, when we were told there were no beds in the system, I would like the Minister of State to respond. This is very serious.

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