Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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218. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if and when he contacted the Department of housing, planning and local government digital hub, the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive or Dublin City Council regarding the imminent closure of the Brú Aimsir hostel in County Dublin; and if he supports removing the 100 emergency beds currently in the hostel from the Dublin emergency accommodation system or if he believes these beds should remain operational until such time as an alternative location for them is provided. [10880/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The Programme for a Partnership Government has committed to addressing the housing shortage and homelessness, and is committed to publishing, within the first 100 days, a new Action Plan for Housing which will contain a specific section on preventing homelessness.

The hostel referred to in the Question is located in a warehouse property owned by the Digital Hub Development Agency (DHDA) which operates under the aegis of my Department.

In line with section 7(2) of the Digital Hub Development Agency Act 2003, the Board of the DHDA sought the consent of my predecessor to grant a lease to Dublin City Council (DCC) to use the vacant warehouse as a temporary cold weather emergency facility for a 6 month period to the end of March 2016, and his consent was so granted.  Subsequently, my predecessor, on foot of two further requests from the Board, granted his consent to the DHDA to extend, by one month each, the term of the lease with DCC.

The term of the lease is a matter for DCC to raise with the DHDA in the first instance. I understand that DCC and DHDA are in discussions about the possibility of further extending the term of the lease, and I will consider any related request for Ministerial consent as a matter of priority.