Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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260. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he has requested the local authorities to report to him on the reporting mechanisms in place to ensure cleanliness and safety standards in emergency accommodation; the legislation or statutory instruments which govern the standards of emergency accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7264/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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All emergency accommodation service providers must meet the applicable requirements of statutory codes, in particular, the requirements of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and the Fire Services Acts. My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities. The matter raised in the Question is an operational issue in the day-to-day delivery of services and is therefore a matter for individual housing authorities.

The Dublin Region Homeless Executive is currently coordinating the development of a comprehensive National Quality Standards Framework for homeless services on behalf of all housing authorities. Consultation with service users and key stakeholders has been undertaken and the draft standards were piloted in selected services during 2016. These standards, which will provide providers with a framework for continuous quality improvement in their services, will be implemented nationally during 2017 .