Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 238: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children her plans to deal with homelessness in the Dublin region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24242/04]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Homelessness — An Integrated Strategy, published in May 2000, places responsibility for the provision of accommodation for homeless adults with the local authorities and the provision of their in-house care and health needs with the health boards.

Since the publication of Homelessness — An Integrated Strategy, the Department of Health and Children has provided just over €26 million additional funding to the health boards towards the implementation of the strategy. Of that €26 million, more than €16 million has been allocated to the Eastern Regional Health Authority towards the implementation of the strategy in the eastern region. In that time frame, the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the area health boards have made significant progress towards meeting the in-house care costs along with developing new designated services for homeless adults who are not ready or able to avail of mainstream services. The Department of Health and Children, the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the area health boards will continue to play a critical role in addressing the needs of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness over the coming three years.

Part of the task will be to continue to build on the achievements of the past three years, which included the development of a number of innovative health services for homeless people. These were primarily concerned with bringing health services to people who were homeless at locations that best suited their needs and lifestyles. They included the development of primary care services in hostels and day services — services such as dental, GP, nursing, chiropody, alcohol detox, and counselling. In addition, outreach teams were established with the aim of linking people who are homeless into mainstream services and dedicated mental health teams were put in place to meet the mental health needs of people who are homeless on an outreach basis. In addition, the health boards in partnership with a number of voluntary agencies have been piloting a holistic, multi-agency approach to the needs of women and children in emergency accommodation.

In line with the philosophy of the new three year plan for tackling homelessness in Dublin, Making it Home, published by the Homeless Agency, the key focus for health services over the next three years will be on prevention. The health services will work closely with other agencies to develop the appropriate supports at local level to ensure people at risk of homelessness or who become homeless are assisted to remain in their own communities. The health boards have already begun to address the training needs of local health care staff as a first step in developing local responses. This process will be assisted by the reformed health system which will be in place at the beginning of 2005 and which will have a particular emphasis on strengthening intersectoral working, supporting community development and providing services in a multi-disciplinary and co-ordinated manner at local level.