Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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665. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of the additional supports for families in emergency accommodation and in particular the additional access to early years services, school completion programmes and free public transport that has been provided to families; and the costs of these additional supports. [35450/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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My Department is currently preparing to rollout administrative changes to the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme to provide access for homeless children. I will be announcing this in the coming days.

Under Tusla, the Home School Community Liaison Coordinators and School Completion Programme staff are prioritising extra supports to children whose families are living in emergency accommodation. These supports are provided as part of existing provision and no extra cost is associated with either support.

Examples of supports currently in place include - food provision (breakfast, lunch), accommodating children to arrive in and leave school at times that facilitate parents, provision of uniforms, books etc. where required, provision of in school and after school supports and activities where appropriate, checking in with parents regularly and assisting parents in accessing other services, checking in with children daily and being available to meet and talk to the child.

In certain cases School Completion Programmes organises transport on a short term basis while other provision is being arranged to enable children to attend school.

Transport costs can be an additional burden upon families residing in hotel accommodation on an emergency basis. As provided for in Rebuilding Ireland: An Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness,arrangements are being put in place to provide access to free public transport for family travel and for school journeys for those homeless families in the Dublin Region that are residing in hotel accommodation. Accordingly, each family will be given five 24-hour family LEAP cards, which will be valid for use on all Dublin transport systems, allowing for family days out at weekends or during holiday periods. Furthermore, arrangements are also being put in place to provide for free public transport, where required, for school children travelling between hotel emergency accommodation and school.

The Dublin Region Homeless Executive is implementing these initiatives. It is currently overseeing the distribution of the initial tranche of family LEAP cards though their Family Homeless Action Teams, who will also identify the families’ needs in relation to school journey cards and arrange for their distribution as early as possible following the distribution of the family cards.