Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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4. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the measures he will take to ensure that all emergency homeless accommodation, including family hubs, funded by his Department will meet the highest possible standards. [33572/17]

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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In the two reports on family emergency accommodations and hubs published yesterday, one by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the other by two academics from Maynooth University funded by the European Union, one of their central recommendations was the need for an independent inspection regime for emergency accommodation, in particular for families. In order to ensure the highest possible standards are met not just in the initial provision of emergency accommodation, will the Minister give a commitment to at least explore legislation to ensure family emergency accommodation has some formal independent inspection regime, whether by Tusla or some similar body?

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness provides for early solutions to address the high number of households in emergency accommodation. These include the delivery of increased social housing supply through new-build, acquisition and refurbishment schemes and independent tenancies for homeless households in the private rented sector through housing supports, such as the enhanced housing assistance payment, HAP. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of housing, homeless accommodation and related services rests with individual housing authorities, while my Department’s role involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding.

The Dublin Regional Homeless Executive is working with each of the four Dublin local authorities to support the delivery of a number of family hubs, which will provide homeless families with more appropriate and supported temporary accommodation, as an alternative to hotel accommodation. The facilities in question will provide a suite of children's services, laundry facilities and cooking facilities and will provide space for families to engage with their key workers and with local authorities in relation to finding more permanent housing solutions.

In addition to being required to comply with normal statutory requirements, including in regard to fire safety, there are guidelines in place, which were developed by my Department in consultation with the Dublin local authorities, on best practice and standards for temporary accommodation for families. In so far as family hubs are concerned, this guidance includes standards in regard to minimum sizes for family units and the provision of living spaces.

Furthermore, the Dublin authorities are also guided in the provision of temporary accommodation for families by the national quality standards framework for homelessness services, which the Dublin Region Homeless Executive has developed. This framework is consistent with Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, standards and seeks a minimum level of quality in the provision of temporary accommodation for homeless families.

In terms of standards and quality, it should also be noted that the Dublin Region Homeless Executive has an inspection regime in place to deal with complaints and to ensure targets are met and accommodation is appropriate and safe. The inspection team has a work programme, which includes site visits and interaction with homeless families and individuals on issues arising in their accommodation.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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During the past two years as the family homelessness crisis has spiralled out of control, many of us have had direct experience of very poor emergency accommodation conditions in which families are living. They may not be the norm and there are very many good quality, well run and well maintained facilities, but, for example, I refer to rooms with dampness and blood and urine stained mattresses, accommodation that we would not allow ourselves, let alone children, to stay in. Notwithstanding the fact that the Dublin Region Homeless Executive has those quality guidelines and they are HIQA compliant, surely the best way to ensure high quality standards in all emergency accommodation, whether it be the new hubs or existing emergency accommodation, not including hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation, is that they be subject to an independent inspection regime. That is why the HIQA legislation was amended to include, for example, direct provision centres. It would be a really strong statement of the Minister's confidence in the emergency accommodation that his Department is funding if he would subject them to the same type of independent inspection regime so that everybody could be assured that they are meeting the high standards that he has outlined.

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I have complete confidence in the family hubs and in the way they have been set up, designed, built or retrofitted, and in the people who are working there and bringing community care into those facilities. I have also complete confidence in the Dublin Region Homeless Executive and its ability to carry out inspections in those facilities to make sure they are up to scratch. I would say to Members who are members of the committee and who have been invited to the Crosscare, or Mater Dei, facility to visit and get a better understanding of exactly what we are talking about when we talk about these family hubs. They will understand from the care workers there that everything that is happening in those hubs is being driven by the communities there in terms of what they want to see and what rules or charter, which is probably the best way of putting it, they want to work under. That is the type of facility they will see there and those are the types of standards being used. The workers there are Tusla approved, separate from the Crosscare, or Mater Dei , facility, and they work together in these family hubs for those families. I am very happy and confident in the standards I have seen so far to date.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I am not questioning or do not doubt any of that, although in addition to people, including ourselves, seeing hubs being constructed, we should also be taking to the families who are currently living in hubs. They would give a much more insightful explanation of the difficulties that families experience, notwithstanding the improvements from hotel and bed and breakfast accommodation to hubs, but none of that is the point I was making. Some 70% of families with children in emergency accommodation currently have been there more than six months, and 40% have been there more than one year. We currently have approximately 200 families who are approaching their second year in emergency accommodation. It does not matter how good a facility is when it is set up, it needs to be subject to an independent inspection. The word "independent' is important because that means independent of the funders, that is, the Minister's Department, but also independent of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive. If many other aspects of residential care funded by the State are subject to independent inspection such as by HIQA, I cannot see any compelling argument as to why the Minister would not have the same kind of regime for all Department of Housing, Planning Community and Local Government funded emergency accommodation.

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I had the opportunity to speak to a number of families in the hubs. They confirmed to me they were much happier in the hub than they were in the hotel because of the shared play facilities and the cooking facilities. They could cook a meal and have it on their own without having to have their children in their arms, which they had not been able to do previously but they do so now because of the supports in place. The hub is a better place than a hotel. I repeat that it is a first response, a temporary response and an emergency response.

Some of the people who were meant to be going into the hub at the Crosscare facility were able to find a pathway to more permanent housing before they even went into the hub. If we consider the commitment that was given June to those families who were homeless at the end of May and in emergency accommodation, one third were to go into social housing, one third were to go into HAP support tenancies, and one third were to go into hubs. Each of those families was met and given a letter with that commitment.

I reiterate that the hub is the first response, not the last. It is not meant to be a long-term response. It is better than hotels. I am very satisfied with the arrangements that are in place for the management and operation of these hubs. I am happy to continue to discuss this with the Deputy if he feels there is something missing in respect of the inspection regime. I am happy with what I have seen in terms of the engagement with the care workers, workers from Tusla, local authorities and representatives from the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive in terms of how they are trying to make this an appropriate, safe and strong space for families. If the Deputy has other concerns of which I need to be aware, perhaps he could share them with me.