Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)

I raise an issue I dealt with when I was Minister of State at the Department of Health. It is about having an integrated homeless health hub in Cork city. In October 2024, I arranged a meeting between the Department of Health, the Department of housing, the HSE in Cork and Cork City Council. It was agreed that we would all work together to establish a day centre where people who were homeless could go. At the present time, there is accommodation available to these people at night. The vast majority avail of that accommodation although some do not. However, during the day, there is no place for anyone to go. The accident and emergency department at Mercy University Hospital is under severe pressure. People tend to use that. Businesses are also under pressure because people need someplace to go, particularly in wet or cold weather. We have identified a site, a building, but the building's owners are getting concerned that, 12 or 14 months on, there is still nothing signed on the dotted line in relation to this development. Even if it were signed in the morning, it would still take anything up to 12 months before the facility came on stream while 600 people still have no place to go during the day.

There is also a huge advantage from the HSE point of view. It is currently paying out over €2 million in staff costs but these staff are in different locations, providing a range of services to people who are homeless. If there was one hub for all of this work, it would make it far easier for the health service, the city council and all of the support people within social services. This issue really needs to be prioritised. I certainly do not want further delay. There is another risk. There is a property identified in a very good location. It is important that we step up to the mark and progress the project now and that I am not back here again in 12 months' time making the same plea.

I know the Department of Health is not the Minister of State's area but I ask that this be brought to the attention of all of the Ministers. We need to prioritise this issue. We also need to take the pressure off Mercy University Hospital. It is providing an excellent service but it is restricted in the support it can give people who are homeless who are not necessarily looking for medical care but who need someplace to go. We really need to prioritise this project now. Cork is the second biggest city in the country. It is amazing that we do not have such a health hub in the city available for people who are homeless during the day. Obviously, our priority is to reduce the number of people who are homeless. This hub can help with that as well. It can help people to access housing that is suitable for them. At the moment, people who are homeless feel there is no one supporting them. They feel that they are on their own and that there is no dedicated service available to them. I ask that this now be given priority and that it not be delayed further.

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