Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I submitted this matter for debate because the week before last five homeless people died. We already had a spike in the number of homeless people during the summer. That could have been due to Covid-19, or people may not have been comfortable within homeless services because of a lack of social distancing and therefore opted to live in tents. There was a tragic death in my area of a homeless man who was attacked for his mobile phone. He was living in a tent down a lane in a residential area.

As we head into the winter months, it is important we put a strategy in place to deal with this situation. This is our first experience of the pandemic in deep winter. People in the homeless services area already have many challenges because of the cold weather. We do not have figures for the rest of the country, and Councillor Anthony Flynn, who does a great deal of work with the Inner City Helping Homeless charity, has called for those to be provided. There has been a spike in Dublin and we think the number of deaths is more than that, and that is backed up by figures from the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, DRHE. We do not know the exact figure for the rest of the country, however. Councillor Flynn is hearing reports from some of his colleagues regarding the situation in Galway, Cork and Limerick.

It is important that we prioritise this issue, especially during a winter in the middle of a pandemic. I also emphasise the need for more funding for the Housing First approach and wraparound services. We have an issue with homelessness and the lack of housing supply, but there is also an issue regarding addiction and the associated wraparound services required for the more vulnerable in our homeless population. Before we get into the very dark winter months, it is important the Minister of State gives this House details of the strategy for preventing deaths of homeless people on the streets. I would also like him to elaborate on the Housing First strategy and if there is going to be a prioritisation of wraparound and addiction services for people who are homeless and who are our most vulnerable population in that situation.