Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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2231. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his policy in relation to family hubs; if there is a model of best practice for the operation and management of family hubs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28243/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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As part of the response to the commitment contained in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness that, by mid-2017, hotels will only be used as emergency accommodation in limited circumstances, housing authorities are delivering a number of family-focused, supported temporary accommodation facilities.  These custom-developed facilities will offer family living arrangements with a greater level of stability than is possible in hotel accommodation while move-on options to long-term independent living are identified and secured. 

These new family focused arrangements will facilitate more coordinated needs assessment and support planning including on-site access to required services, such as welfare, health, housing services, cooking and laundry facilities and appropriate family supports.

Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities, while my Department’s role involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding.  It is therefore a matter for the relevant housing authorities to consider the precise operational and management arrangements for the various facilities.

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 have been piloted in selected services.  These standards, which will provide providers with a framework for continuous quality improvement in their services, will be implemented nationally during the course of 2017.