Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Labour Party, I support this motion.

The factual information in the motion is self-evident in many of the schools in my constituency. Almost every school has had one or more of the families whose children attend experiencing homelessness, some for short periods of time. Some, for instance, experienced homelessness due to a disastrous fire in an apartment block almost two years ago.

People experience homelessness for a variety of different circumstances. Some have come to Ireland as immigrants from other countries and they are simply not in or able to get into the housing system.

Teachers in the schools have been doing their level best to support and empower such children and it is a really important contribution by teachers. If a message of hopelessness is conveyed to children, it would cause even further problems, as well as a loss of self-worth, for the children. That may be the instinct of people at times out of kindness but if we can find a way to create better lives for children while they are in homelessness, we would do them some service.

The Government should put an absolute limit on the amount of time that a child can spend in homelessness. There is much data, for example, around people who become unemployed when young and particularly young men. All the international data show that this impact carries on not just into their 20s and 30s but into their 40s and 50s, and it often triggers other problems. The parallel data on children experiencing homelessness indicates that children worry about themselves and why they do not have a place to do their homework. They worry about why their mum and dad are either fighting, upset or depressed when they do not have a home. I have seen it in children staying in hotels, whom I have met from time to time, that they almost become like small adults, looking out for the parents who they love.

People were very shocked by yesterday's shooting in Riversdale in my constituency of Dublin West. That was at a secondary school and the education and training board was able to immediately put in a fantastic set of supports. Approximately seven weeks ago, at the primary school at the other side of Corduff, there were two 20-year-olds on the street with guns. They did not shoot or kill anybody, which was a miracle. I was in the school and other schools in the area subsequently and the level of fear was palpable. Unfortunately, those schools have from time to time had experience of children whose families have not been able to get a proper home. The schools in the area have a counselling service through the school retention programme but Tusla and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, cannot say if it will continue. That is the reason I was there.

This counselling service has a counsellor coming to the school, so if children want to talk to the counsellor because mammy and daddy do not have a house and are worried, for example, they can do it. The school principal can direct that action. However, the Minister and this Government cannot give an assurance that the service will continue. I raised the matter this morning with the Taoiseach and in fairness to him, he said he will look into it. These are big primary schools with large populations. They have 600 or 700 children. As the Minister knows from his visit to the schools in Tyrrelstown, most of the schools in Dublin West are big primary schools and much bigger than most of the primary schools in much of Donegal. This service is provided by Tusla and the school retention programme.

There could be an addition to the Fianna Fáil motion by looking at the school retention programme. There could be a structure around the proposed €5 million funding that partly involves Tusla and school breakfast clubs, which are a fantastic initiative. Children can go there early in the mornings and not only do they get food but, more important, they get a social space where they can sit and chat to other children, teachers and the people making breakfast. It is such a happy place where children can go. I am sure the Minister has probably seen several school breakfast clubs but these are really important structures that help children.

Will the Minister speak to his colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, and tell her not to let Tusla cut the supports that are so important to children affected by issues like homelessness? With an available counselling service, school principals can direct counsellor availability to children in particular. In one school, there are three children affected by homelessness because of a disastrous fire in the area. The school, including its parents' council and all its structures, reached out in a very caring and confidential way to help those affected families while alternative and permanent accommodation was found for them.

The other person that the Minister should perhaps arrange to meet is somebody I knew when I was a child in school. All the schools I attended are DEIS schools so I know what I am talking about. The Minister should meet Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy as she knows more than anybody else the impact of families living in bed and breakfasts or in a transient situation. She would certainly be able to direct the Minister to much of the current research on the impact on families and children.

A number of the proposals in the motion are very good. The Minister will be going to the teacher conferences in the next couple of weeks and he could put a programme together to meet people like home school liaison teachers. They are often the first people in the school, along with the principal or deputy principal, to deal with these matters. There is also the matter of teenagers who experience homelessness. Unfortunately, relationships in families may be very chaotic. If possible, the Government should move to supporting grandparents or other relatives who may be willing to give care or just be there for families.

The homelessness problem is growing in Dublin. I have seen the figures but in Dublin, for example, much of the extra accommodation taking up the building industry's time is aimed at students. We saw reports the other day that most student accommodation is being offered at approximately €250 per week so very few Irish students are able to afford it. This is absorbing a vast amount of building capacity and, unfortunately, very little of it is available for people who need permanent homes. It is something this Government must address.

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