Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Unfortunately, the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, is not present. I know he knows the site in question, given the fact that he visited it only yesterday and failed while he was there to meet the community that has been raising major concerns about the selection of a community hall as a new homeless centre in the heart of Dublin 8. The hall in question is the St. Nicholas of Myra Hall and Carman's Hall, just off Francis Street. If the Minister of State wants a quick lesson on what is happening in the area, there are more than 600 emergency beds there, including long-term support beds, drug treatment beds, homeless beds and hotel beds, all within one square mile of this hall. That is the concentration of supports this community has accepted and agreed to. It has worked with homelessness organisations to ensure that these unfortunates, some from the area, have the benefit of a roof over their heads. Therefore, this is not NIMBYism, a "not in my back yard" approach.

This issue is being raised because a community had a community hall and was seeking to convert it back into a community hall following its closure on fire protection grounds only a few short months ago. It is very bad faith on the part of the Archdiocese of Dublin not to have continued to engage with the community but instead to refuse to return calls and so on from people including the former mayor, Críona Ní Dhálaigh. While she was mayor she tried to advocate on this issue, along with Dublin City Council, which was willing to take over the hall and bring it back to the work it was doing, including its use for meals on wheels and many other outreach programmes in the area. Overnight, the Minister and his officials have come in and used emergency laws to allow work to begin, but there are major questions as to whether or not that is legal.

There was no commencement order. Work had started five days before that appeared. I have been told they are working through the night in a residential area, which is not within any regulations. The nearest house is literally across the road, a distance equivalent to that between myself and the Cathaoirleach in the House tonight. That is not the type of place to start building works in the middle of the night. I remind the Minister of State that the yard of this hall is used as the crèche playground. They are now being asked to share this with a homeless facility. This is not the site.

On many occasions, I have suggested alternative sites not only to the Minister here in the House but also to Mr. Brendan Kenny, who is now the housing manager of Dublin City Council. Even this morning, I suggested two additional sites in the locality to him which the community would be happy with. Only last year, there was a fortune spent on Brú Aimsir on Thomas Street. That is to be closed and the services moved to this centre. It is illogical. We supported Brú Aimsir and the extension of time granted for it to remain. We do not know why that timespan cannot be extended again or, at the very least, why an alternative location cannot be found for it that is next door, because all of the buildings next to Brú Aimsir are derelict at present. This is a bad move. The use of emergency legislation to rush it through is in bad faith.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for raising this issue in the House. On a given night in the Dublin region, there are approximately 1,650 individuals in temporary emergency accommodation, such as hostels and other supported accommodation. This includes an additional 275 beds that have been put in place in the last two years.

The most recent Dublin region rough sleeper count recorded 102 individuals as sleeping rough in the region on the night of 24 April last. This compares with the figure of 91 recorded the previous November and 106 in April 2015. The Dublin region's outreach services work on an ongoing basis to engage with all individuals sleeping rough with the specific goal of moving people into either emergency accommodation or housing-first solutions. The next official Dublin region count will be held towards the end of this month, with the exact date to be finalised in the next couple of days. The official rough sleeper count is the accepted methodology across all the various stakeholders. However, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive estimates there may currently be in the region of 140 individuals sleeping rough.

The Dublin region cold weather plan has commenced operation and is subject to ongoing review. This proactive plan is undertaken each year as winter approaches with the emphasis on having a variety of additional options for people who do not or cannot avail of existing homeless services. The overarching aim is to prevent fatalities and other serious harm due to rough sleeping in very cold weather. As part of this plan, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive is putting in place additional emergency accommodation in the Dublin region with a view to these beds being operational by early December. They are advancing three projects at present, which will see over 200 additional bed spaces provided. One of these is at the former St. Nicholas of Myra Centre at Carman’s Hall in Dublin 8, which will provide 50 beds. The provision of homeless services, including accommodation, is a statutory function of housing authorities and my Department has no role in operational matters such as the selection of sites and the delivery of on-site services.

Given the Dublin Region Homeless Executive’s current estimate of approximately 140 rough sleepers, the additional bed spaces will be enough to cater for all those presently sleeping rough who wish to bed down for the night while allowing for some additional capacity. Also, Rebuilding Ireland - an Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness recognises that simply providing additional emergency beds is not a viable long-term solution for individuals in emergency accommodation, particularly those availing of the services on a regular or recurring basis. These are people with complex needs and Rebuilding Ireland commits to housing-led initiatives through which permanent, stable and supported housing will be provided to these individuals, thus reducing the reliance on emergency accommodation over time. Rebuilding Ireland has set a target of securing 300 such tenancies in the Dublin region by the end of 2017, which is triple what the current housing-first programme is due to deliver this year. The Dublin Region Homeless Executive is working with a consortium of Focus Ireland and the Peter McVerry Trust to deliver this programme.

I hope that gives the Deputy some indication that hopefully these plans are just temporary. We are trying to put in place long-term, permanent solutions to be able to give these people the option of a permanent home.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I do not know what "temporary" means in this day and age, given we were told quite a number of years ago that the homeless crisis in this city was temporary. That seems to suggest that this is not as temporary as suggested and that it is not for six months or a year. Given the level of work that I have seen happening in that hall, this is no temporary measure for six months, nine months or a year or two.

The Minister of State said the Department had no role in selecting the hall but the Department did agree with it and allowed it to go ahead. It is the Department which is overseeing the implementation of section 179 of the Planning and Development Act. It begs the question: where next with that Act? Can the Department start taking over people's homes if they are set aside for a while? Can it totally ride roughshod over community concerns? This is not the way to do business, especially with a community that has been quite open and helpful in trying to ensure that those who are less well off than them are looked after. However, they also look at nearby constituencies and nearby areas of Dublin and County Dublin in which absolutely no services have been put in place. Once again, their community is told to bear the brunt of the homelessness crisis.

Only 100 yd. away from the hall or perhaps even less than that, there is a hotel which is used by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, the Viking Lodge. There was a fire in it only last week. That is the scale of the amount of services that the community has hosted and has been willing to host. That is not the problem. The problem is that this building and its location are not suitable. There are also concerns that it will affect the likes of the crèche, which now has to find alternative play space for its children because it will not be able to share with 65 homeless people who will be using this centre. This is not ideal. It is not the way to do business. Even at this late stage, I hope the Minister of State goes back and allows the Department, the city council or whatever to liaise properly with the community upon which this has been foisted, because that community has had no say or consultation in any shape or form.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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To address the concerns of the Deputy on the temporary nature of this measure, the idea behind making the tackling of homelessness and housing the No. 1 priority of the Government is that people will only be homeless on a temporary basis. We are trying to put in place long-term sustainable solutions. Ending rough sleeping and the use of unsuitable long-term emergency accommodation, including hotels for homeless families, are key priorities of the Government. That is why there was an action plan published in July with 84 actions bringing together all of the agencies, including the local authorities. We all know the solution to ending homelessness is to increase the housing supply. We simply cannot do that overnight but that is why we are trying to increase the supply as quickly as we possibly can.

By now, the Deputy will already be familiar with the contents of Rebuilding Ireland. It is a comprehensive, action-oriented and well-resourced plan to boost housing supply. The action plan also sets out a clear roadmap to achieve the Government's goals, to significantly increase and expedite the delivery of social housing units, to boost private housing construction, to improve the rental market and to deliver on the commitment to increase housing supply in overall terms to some 25,000 new homes every year by 2020. Just as the drafting of the action plan was a collaborative process involving a wide range of interests, so too will its implementation rely on all stakeholders, including Departments, local authorities, housing agencies, voluntary bodies and the construction sector, to achieve its ambitious goals. The key targets of the action plan will also be subject to regular Cabinet review.

I have no doubt that this House will play an important part in that process going forward and that the action plan will deliver permanent solutions. I understand the concern. People have seen timelines missed, deadlines missed and problems continue to arise. However, we are very committed that this is priority No. 1. The whole of the Dáil was involved in the committee on homelessness as well. With the resources that are put behind it, I have no doubt but that this action plan will bring about the solutions that the Deputy wants to achieve. I understand the concerns he has locally, but we have to try to solve this on a national scale. It is predominantly in the Dublin region and that is where the resources are going to be to try to tackle this and bring it to a head once and for all.