Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this important matter. I am glad to have the opportunity to talk about it today. I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for agreeing to come to the House to take this matter. I value and appreciate that. I know it is a busy day for him. As he is a key Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I take this opportunity to congratulate him and his Department on the collaboration with Bord Bia Bloom Festival, which kicks off today. Undoubtedly, the Minister of State would prefer to be at the festival in the sunshine meeting and greeting the farmers and those in the horticulture sector, but he will surely have an opportunity to do so. I am thankful for the collaboration between Bord Bia, the Office of Public Works, OPW, and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, which has made this a successful festival and now an international event.

I am here to talk about the Youth Homeless Strategy 2023 to 2025. I refer to the context of the recent reports published on the monthly homelessness statistics, but I am not here to comment on them in any great detail because they cover the full gamut of homelessness and the challenges around it. I do, though, welcome the openness and transparency of the Government to publish these monthly figures. This is a commitment in itself, and it is good because it allows for a greater scrutiny of homelessness on a month-by-month basis.

Turning to the youth issue, we know addressing youth homelessness is one of the key aims set out in the Housing for All policy. There has been a rise in the number of young people experiencing homelessness and this is deeply concerning. This morning, just before I came into the House, I went to the Grafton Street are to have a look around. There is evidence there of young people who are homeless and sleeping in doorways. It is clear from seeing and talking to some of those young people that the issues involved in their being homeless include drug addiction, mental health issues, exiting from prison, exiting from institutional or State care and low academic achievement because of constricted academic opportunities due to social exclusion, disadvantage and family break up. All of these elements feed into homelessness. A complex range of issues impact on young people.

I am conscious, as is the Minister of State, that the Government has signed the Lisbon Declaration of the European Platform for Combating Homelessness, which commits to working to end homelessness in 2023. We have a long and hard task ahead of us, and we must all work together to support those young people at risk of becoming homeless. The latter is key. This is about being on the same team and working to see how we can address the issue. I wish, therefore, to commend the Government's youth homeless strategy. As the Minister of State will well know, the strategy contains 27 distinct actions to prevent young people from entering homelessness and to improve the experience of young people in emergency accommodation. The latter is an issue. For many young people, it is not working out for them. For some reason, they feel they cannot operate within emergency accommodation. We must look at that aspect. It is a particular matter that we must address. We must consider whether we need to work on another range of supports in this context.

The other question, of course, is how we can assist young people to exit homelessness. I touched on the issues of people exiting the prison services, State care and being impacted by disadvantage. The Traveller community is another specific area we need to focus on in the context of homelessness, as well as those of mental health and vulnerable people.

Transitioning from institutional care into a community and life is difficult. It is one of the hardest tasks for people. For young people aged 16, 17 or 18 who are pushed out of institutional care, who are not equipped for this and who do not have emotional and educational supports, this is one of the most vulnerable times in their lives. In many cases, no one gives a damn about them. No one cares and no one supports them. They have no contacts. In many cases, their families have totally broken. Youth homelessness, therefore, is an extremely important issue. The youth homeless strategy is key in this regard and I would like to hear the Minister of State comment on how we can now work together to deliver on the 27 distinct actions in the strategy. I thank the Minister of State.