Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I recognise the concerns the Deputy is raising and he is right to raise them. It is right to speak about what is happening with homelessness outside of Dublin. Dublin gets much of the attention because it has a significant problem, particularly when it comes to families in emergency accommodation. However, that problem is experienced in other parts of the country as well.

I spoke about the two different challenges we are facing with homelessness. One relates to people who are rough sleeping or adults in emergency accommodation who have more complex needs. The other relates to families who because of housing insecurity and the inability to find a home find themselves in the unacceptable situation of being in emergency accommodation. I have tried to simplify delivery. One of the things I wanted to do in Galway was merge the two local authority areas so when it came to matters such as housing there would be one force, unit or dedicated group with political responsibility to drive it. That was rejected by Members of the Dáil, but that has not stopped me from appointing a task force to the two authorities to drive delivery across both local authorities. The problem does not observe the local authority boundaries.

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