Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

That is good. I acknowledge the changes that are happening on the ground as a result of the letter. It is too soon to say for certain what will happen but those who have been refused emergency accommodation are now being engaged with and dealt with, which is very positive. The Minister's actions on this are making a difference, but more clarity would be useful.

When we are given information from official sources, it is important that we question it as much as possible. There is often a difference between what people on the ground say and what those further up the chain report to us. It is as true in this sector as any. Some years ago, I spoke to a retired senior civil servant who strongly advised me to always talk to people at different layers in order to get the full picture. That was the view of someone who himself had been high up in the chain and it is relevant here.

I have written to the Minister about the use of private emergency accommodation. There have been cases where people in vulnerable situations have been refused admission to private emergency accommodation after they have been discharged from hospital. That is very serious. They have nowhere else to go in those situations because private operators do not want to take on the risk. Serious issues have arisen from the implementation of very strict rules, including no chatting rules, which has been documented and I have written to the Minister on this, some of which have led to evictions. There is a problem in the entire sector where those who are best placed to help homeless people in moving on and prevention is in the not-for-profit sector rather than the private sector. All that needs to be examined.

I wish to ask the Minister about the youth homeless strategy. Is it being worked on? When will it be published? The Dublin Region Homeless Executive does not publish the numbers who present to it as homeless but are turned away. Will the Minister ask them to publish those statistics? The end of the use of one-night-only beds has had profound consequences, both positive and negative, related to the problems around the local connections rule for those who have been refused access to accommodation. Has there been any analysis of this?

I welcome the inspections into homeless services but none reports have been published, which is good practice. Will they be published? How can the private providers of emergency accommodation be measured against the national quality standards framework when many do not provide support services?

The Minister spoke of the homeless task force, which he chairs. Its meetings have gone from weekly to monthly.

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