Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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139. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the permanent mission of Ireland to the United Nations at Geneva in Switzerland has received communication from the United Nations special rapporteur on the human right to water and sanitation, and from the United Nations special rapporteur on the human right to adequate housing and on the access to sanitation and housing in County Cork; if he will reply to the special rapporteurs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13973/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade receives correspondence from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on a regular basis. Where such correspondence relates to domestic policies, Departments with lead responsibility for the relevant policy issues are asked to provide input for the reply to the United Nations.

We have received correspondence from the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living and on the rights to non-discrimination in this context, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation seeking the Government’s position on information they had received in relation to homelessness and water and sanitation services in Cork city.

I wish to confirm that this matter has been addressed and that a comprehensive response will be forwarded to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on this matter this week.

I will be happy to provide a copy of this response to the Deputy.