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

I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for those questions. I also thank the Deputy for acknowledging the good measures that have been taken. From talking to those on the front lines, in the NGOs and in the local authorities I know they are doing everything they can. It is admirable. They did it anyway all the time and once again they are stepping up in this crisis. As a result of their work there are people safe today who might not have been safe had that work not been done. I do not think we can thank them enough.

I am trying to establish what measures can be permanent and what cannot, such as what can we buy, what can we lease in properties and what we could secure on a longer term that may be on a temporary basis currently. Some of the accommodation is in the right location, is the right type of accommodation and we could really use it into the future. That work is happening now. I have asked the NGOs that are service delivery providers and the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive to give me their input so that as we lift the restrictions we can look at holding on to as much as we can. We know that we will not be able to hold on to all the hotel spaces. That might be the first challenge we face. The hotels will open up when they can and we must look at where those people will go.

The second piece of work is around securing properties that might have been used for short-term letting, which should not have been and will not be into the future. We may secure them for long-term leasing for ourselves, either for people who are in emergency accommodation or those on the social housing list. We are looking at that currently. We also need to see what measures can be made permanent, such as the arrangements between our Department, the Department of Health and others, which have made a significant difference to people's lives with regard to outcomes. They must remain in place.

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