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

Brú Aimsir was opened as a temporary facility in 2015 on Thomas Street in Dublin city centre. The building is owned by the Digital Hub Development Agency and it was always envisaged it would be a temporary facility. I raise the matter not to argue that it should be a permanent facility but to give the Minister of State the opportunity to put on record the arrangements being made for the 95 people who have been recently using the service. It is primarily a night-to-night facility and it deals with single homeless people, many of whom have other complex needs. Having visited the facility and knowing the good work done by Depaul, I realise a very good service is being provided by the support team.

Will the Minister of State confirm that the facility is closing and when it will close? What arrangements are in place to meet the temporary accommodation needs of the 95 people using the facility? I am not asking him to say where the people are moving to but I would like some reassurance on who will provide the support. Will it be Depaul or other agencies? How is that being managed? I appreciate that moving emergency facilities is always difficult and there are a range of considerations, both for the service provider, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, DRHE, and the Department. Nevertheless, I was a little surprised to find out earlier this week that the closure of Brú Aimsir was imminent, and a little more transparency might have made it a little easier for everybody. Will the Minister of State address why the decision was taken?

The broader issue is the monthly homeless figures, which were finalised with the Department yesterday and are with the Minister now. If the Minister of State in a position to give any information on those, as they have not yet been published on the Department's website, we might be able to have a conversation about the broader homeless crisis in my response.

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