Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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As the Minister of State, Deputy English, knows, we have a major housing crisis with almost 9,652 men, women and children homeless, of whom 3,689 are children. These figures exclude the contentious number of people who have been removed from the homeless list. Latest figures also show that there are 763 families in hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation. Some of these families have had to resort to self accommodating, that is, ringing around hotels to secure a booking. This is extremely difficult and very stressful as the Minister of State can imagine, especially in the case of families. Hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation are often booked on a daily basis, leaving families in a terrible and uncertain situation, sometimes having to travel long distances, if they can even afford it, at the last minute to secure beds for the night. Most families and individuals who are homeless with Dublin City Council are now spending up to three or four years homeless waiting on council accommodation or sometimes less if the housing assistance payment, HAP, can be secured.

Every time major events take place in Dublin we have a crisis in accommodation with some hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation opting to take in clients at the expense of homeless families even though they have nowhere to go. This human tragedy is repeated year in year out and will become even more obvious when over the weekend of 25 and 26 August, Pope Francis will visit Ireland. He will visit the Phoenix Park and Croke Park in particular. With the expected crowds and the peak season for tourists, accommodation will be impossible to get and more often than not the prices will be inflated by some establishments taking advantage of the occasion. We have already experienced that in the past. Once again this leaves us with a human tragedy in the making and a major crisis for those homeless families.

Does the Minister of State have an estimate as to how many families could potentially be displaced over the weekend? If action is not taken we will have more families sleeping rough in cars, couch-surfing or sleeping in any nook or cranny they can find. What contingency plans has the Minister of State put in place? Does he intend on putting a crisis management team together? Where are the facilities or accommodation to be had considering that we have 763 families dependant on this type of accommodation at present? The Minister of State cannot leave this until the last minute. The families and their children need certainty. Can the Minister of State guarantee them security and a safe and decent place to stay during that weekend because we have not seen that up to now? We have experienced when there are major events such as concerts that a lot of people get displaced. I also believe that hotels putting up prices on these occasions is something that should not happen because some of the prices that we have seen are crazy and as a result some people are made homeless. Some hotels want to get people out and bring in tourists so they can jack up prices.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Ellis for raising this issue and giving me a chance on my behalf, on behalf of the Department and on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, to outline the position on this because it is a story that has been discussed over recent days.

Addressing homelessness is an absolute priority for this Government. Rebuilding Ireland, the Government’s action plan on housing and homelessness is a six year plan to increase the supply of housing significantly, particularly in terms of social housing. The plan also includes a range of measures to address homelessness and my Department is working proactively to deliver on these measures. Last year alone saw over 26,000 additional households having their social housing need met, utilising a budget of €1.4 billion. In order to build on this progress and to meet the needs of further additional households, the budget has increased by 36% to €1.9 billion this year. We are also making progress in exiting households from homelessness. In 2017, 4,729 individuals exited homelessness into an independent tenancy. While the numbers coming out are positive, we accept that there are still far too many living in emergency accommodation, bed and breakfast accommodation and hotels. It is far too high and no one is trying to say otherwise. It is over 9,500 as the Deputy said. Progress is being made but it is not enough and the Minister and I acknowledge and accept that but we did see 2,080 households leave emergency accommodation in hotels last year, with the majority of these households exiting into homes, rather than hubs. There is some movement through the system but there are still far too many there. It is correct to say that there are over 9,500 in emergency accommodation. To be honest, it is probably not true to say that they are all there for three or four years, but I will not argue over that. The majority are getting through the system. There are some cases that are there a long time but the majority are not and in some cases they might be in a hotel or emergency accommodation for three to six months and then find a home. Others are there for longer but it is not the case that all of these people are there for three or four years because 2,000 families have left hotels. It is also true that many families are offered other solutions, not always a permanent house or social housing but they are offered HAP or other rental assistance - some take it up and some do not for whatever reasons. It might not always suit them but very often people are offered that solution.

Rebuilding Ireland is working and everything is on target and all of the trends are correct in terms of the supply of housing coming in, for example an additional 7,000 social houses became available last year through all the different methods and they are in use. There will be over 8,000 houses this year. Unfortunately, there are continuing presentations to homeless services in the Dublin region on top of that. That means that we still have far too many families in emergency accommodation. As a consequence, we still have a reliance on hotels to provide additional accommodation for families until we can increase the availability of longer term solutions. Additional supply will help to solve that and that is the way to do it.

Pope Francis will be making the first Papal visit to Ireland in almost 40 years on 25 and 26 August and the visit is expected to put additional strain on the availability of hotels across the Dublin region around this time, which happens during many other events as well. It is not just because of the Pope's visit, it would happen with seasonal events and in August because of the tourist season anyway. The Dublin Region Homeless Executive, DRHE, closely monitors the demand for emergency accommodation and has contingency plans in place that provide additional bed capacity when required. Such plans were successfully activated, for example, during Storm Ophelia and Storm Emma and more recently during the series of concerts in the Phoenix Park, which placed demands on accommodation across the city because other events also increase the demand and it is not just the Papal visit. The DRHE actively pursues all accommodation options, which may include providing accommodation in neighbouring counties to ensure that families are provided with emergency accommodation when needed which is as appropriate as possible to their needs. We accept that it is not ideal to have to go to a neighbouring county. We always try to find solutions in the county in question.

Currently the DRHE has 41 family units available in Dublin city which are used on a one night only basis should any family be unable to access accommodation. The Deputy asked what new measures we are taking so a further 30 contingency units will be in place by the end of this month, located centrally so that those who make use of them have easy access to transport options to attend schools, work and other facilities. In addition, two new family hubs, which will provide additional capacity have recently opened in the Dublin region. My Department will continue to support the DRHE with resources and funding will not be an issue.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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I accept that there are occasions when there are events and people end up homeless. This special occasion, however, will bring hundreds of thousands of people into Dublin. Its impact will be exceptional. While the Minister of State says he has 30 extra beds and a few extra hubs that will not be sufficient if several hundred people will be put out of hotels. We have to have a real plan that says we need to have not just a small amount of accommodation. These are families with young children. This affects children's safety and well-being. We have seen what Tusla has said about the fact that children are in hotels. That has been an indictment of the system.

The Minister of State said there will be extra accommodation available in the hubs but I do not know where. I have spoken to many of them and they are at capacity. I have told the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government that in Hampton Wood we have 130 units coming on stream for the housing assistance payment, HAP. They have been bought by a crowd called Irish Residential Properties, Ires, which has bought hundreds of units around the country. The Government should be buying up many of these units and not allowing vulture funds or pension funds or other crowds like that to buy them. It makes more economic sense for the State to get them and use them for social housing.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The Government recognises that hotels are not a suitable accommodation option for families. That is why we are supporting local authorities to develop family hubs and new housing projects, and to purchase vacant houses from banks or others. Last year there were an additional 7,000 houses in the system and this year there will be an additional 8,000 available for social housing. That is a combination of direct build, Part V, vacant houses that we buy through the agencies from the banks, as the Deputy says, and other properties that we source. That is in addition to properties we rent and have on long-term leases. Many houses are coming in. They will become available on a monthly and weekly basis and will be used to house people who are homeless and are on the housing waiting list too in order of priority. They come on stream every week and month and will help us reduce the numbers in hotels too. Family hubs also offer family living arrangements with a greater level of stability than is possible in hotel accommodation with the capacity to provide appropriate play space, cooking and laundry facilities and communal recreational space while move-on options for long-term independent living are identified and secured. There are now more than 20 family hubs in place nationally providing accommodation for more than 500 families, including 19 in the Dublin region. This includes a family hub which opened in the Coolock area of Dublin this month. The Department will work closely with the Dublin local authorities to ensure that further family hubs are developed to reduce the reliance on hotels as a form of emergency accommodation. Moving families to homes is the ultimate goal but hubs offer a better form of emergency accommodation in the short term. I think the Deputy agrees on that point but they are not a permanent solution.

Earlier this year we saw higher than expected increases in family homelessness in the Dublin region. In response to this the Minister requested that the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, DRHE, prepare a report on issues impacting on homelessness in the Dublin region. The Minister received the report this week and a report from the inter-agency group on homelessness was submitted to him last week. The Department will review this and will take appropriate actions too. The difficulties that might arise at peak seasons or when there are events concern new presentations. They do not and will not affect existing families in hotels. We do have contingency plans for every night of the week if someone presents. That is why I said there is no reason for anybody to have to be accommodated in a Garda station or anywhere else like that. There are contingency plans in place for every night of the week for weather events such as storms and for concerts or other major events such as the papal visit. We have plans in place. We will certainly make sure they are increased in August which is a busy period anyway but they are for new presentations. They are not for people cleared out of hotels. That is not the case. They are for people who are not already in the system. I stress that we have many new accommodation solutions coming on stream weekly and they will bring the numbers down. Last year 26,000 families were helped. That does not mean that everybody gets the help they need. I accept that but if we can increase the pace as we are doing with new supply it will help provide solutions in the form of permanent homes.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I am sure that all of us here appreciate that Pope Francis I is the last man on earth who would want to see vulnerable people driven out of their emergency accommodation.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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I am not accusing the Minister of that.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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That is not going to happen.