John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. The Government is fully committed to resolving homelessness. It is an absolute priority for the Department to deliver solutions to provide solutions for all of the individuals and families who do not have a home. In Dublin, where rough sleeping presents the biggest challenge, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, DRHE, co-ordinates the delivery of homeless services across the four local authorities. The DRHE constantly evaluates the requirement for accommodation and engages with the Department regularly on the delivery of accommodation solutions.

In September 2018, the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, requested that the DRHE co-ordinate a plan for the delivery of additional beds across the Dublin region in order to ensure that accommodation is available for those at risk of rough sleeping. Since then, the DRHE has delivered 200 permanent beds and has also put in place approximately 150 temporary beds for the cold weather period. The Department has been assured by the DRHE that the accommodation arrangements that have been put in place have ensured that there is adequate capacity to cater for all who wish to obtain shelter. The management of the booking of beds is co-ordinated by the DRHE through a central placement service. The DRHE has confirmed that since the introduction of the new beds, there has been sufficient capacity in the system to ensure that a bed is available for anyone who wishes to avail of it. That was indeed the case on Tuesday night.

The DRHE is working to deal with a very challenging situation, in conjunction with its NGO service delivery partners. There continue to be challenges in encouraging some individuals who are rough sleeping to come into shelter. What the Deputy said is correct. There is a man sleeping rough close to where I live on the edge of Waterford city who has been offered help by State agencies as well as individuals and I have learned today that he seems to have taken a bed some place, thanks be to God.

The DRHE has outreach teams that work on the streets 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, engaging with people sleeping rough. The current cold weather strategy provides a targeted response to people sleeping rough, especially those that are reluctant to engage with services or those that are long-term sleeping rough. The DRHE has confirmed that sufficient capacity exists to provide shelter for all those who require it and will continue to provide outreach and support for those unwilling to engage with services.

With regard to the statements made by Inner City Helping Homeless that there was insufficient bed capacity on Tuesday night, the director of the DRHE was very clear in her media statements yesterday that those assertions were incorrect. Deputies should exercise caution in making statements to the Dáil on the basis of statements by individual organisations. To do so risks undermining the work of the DRHE and all of the service delivery partners involved in outreach work and the provision of emergency accommodation.

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