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

I thank the Minister for his reply. Much work and consultation went into the creation of these standards and they are good. It is an issue that they are not being applied to the private providers. These services are funded by the local authorities and are in receipt of funding through the Minister's Department to provide accommodation. We have some serious issues. Hostels that were shut down by non-governmental organisations, NGOs, because of poor standards have been reopened by private, for-profit sector providers. People who are experiencing homelessness are being put into rooms without windows. Hostels have been shut down because they were not meeting minimum fire safety standards. I have met, as I am sure the Minister has, people experiencing homelessness who tell me they feel safer sleeping on the street than going to some of these providers because standards are so low. Why are some of the providers not applying these standards? What specifically is the Minister going to do about it?

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