Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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45. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will report on her Department's actions in respect of the record levels of child homelessness; her views on the long-term impact on those children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40122/16]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Homelessness, whether for a child presenting alone or as part of a family, is a distressing experience. Children under 16 who present as out of home to emergency services without a parent or guardian are taken into care. Children aged 16 and 17 similarly presenting may be taken into care, or provided with a service under section 5 of the Child Care Act 1991 (accommodation for homeless children). For young people who were formerly in the care of the State, aftercare services are also put in place in respect of the specific needs of a child, including accommodation and educational supports.

Children who are homeless as part of a family group remain in the care of their parent/s. Where there are no welfare or protection concerns Tusla’s role is to provide family support. As the Deputy is aware, my Department, as part of a whole-Government approach to homelessness is committed to helping families by supporting implementation of Rebuilding Ireland: the Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness.

The overarching aim of the Action Plan is to ramp up delivery of housing across all tenures in order to help individuals and families, with a particular focus on those in emergency accommodation, to meet their housing needs. It is explicitly acknowledged in the Action Plan that any medium to long-term period living in a hotel seriously impacts on normal family life and is particularly detrimental to children. My Department is committed to doing everything it can to minimise this impact by supporting families and children as much as possible while they are in emergency accommodation.

My Department is working to provide such additional supports by funding research to identify issues regarding access to food and potential nutritional impacts, and by enhancing access to early years services for homeless families. It is planned to launch this scheme next January.

Also, I recently secured the agreement of the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government that the provision of accommodation for young people leaving State care would be eligible for funding under the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) operated by his Department. My Department and Tusla will work to ensure that any accommodation proposed, and ultimately delivered, will be provided with the appropriate levels of protective factors for the young person making the transition to independent living.

Many of the remaining child-focussed actions in the Action Plan are being advanced by Tusla. This year, Tusla provided funding to Focus Ireland for additional child support workers to assist with the challenges facing families in emergency accommodation. Furthermore, the joint protocol between Tusla and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive governing child welfare and protection matters is fully operational and it is intended to replicate this protocol across the State.