Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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28. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she has held discussions with the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government regarding the family hubs that are planned to replace the use of hotels for families in emergency accommodation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30783/17]

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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30. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will consult with the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government as to the suitability of accommodating children in hubs as a response to the housing crisis; if she will make recommendations to ensure the safety and well-being of children being housed in those circumstances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31023/17]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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44. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to support homeless families that will be moved into hubs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30852/17]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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56. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on whether hotel and bed and breakfast accommodation is suitable for homeless families; her further views on whether the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government is delivering on its responsibility to these families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31216/17]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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58. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the work she is undertaking with the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government to support homeless families with young children remaining in emergency accommodation, hubs and so on; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30853/17]

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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59. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of families in emergency accommodation being supported by community child care subvention; the status of free travel and other measures for families in emergency accommodation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31163/17]

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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62. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her Department has determined the number of homeless children here; the measures being taken to protect their welfare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31215/17]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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550. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on whether hotel and bed and breakfast accommodation is suitable for homeless persons; her further views on whether the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government is delivering on its responsibility to these persons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31229/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 28, 30, 44, 56, 58, 59, 62 and 550 together.

Firstly let me say that I have had discussions with the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government in relation to the family hubs. They are a temporary solution as we, as a government get to grips with the devastating plight of homelessness in our country. The hubs are a better temporary solution than hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation which I do not believe are suitable accommodation for homeless families.

I know Minister Murphy has as his target that any new family presenting as homeless will be accommodated in a hub and not in a hotel or bed and breakfast. His other target is to move families that are currently homeless and living in hotels, out of those hotels.

Hubs provide shared facilities and important supports that are difficult to organise in hotels. They allow families to lead their lives in a way that is better for children and better for their parents. They have additional space in hubs. In a hotel setting, families are often cramped into one bedroom. They have no privacy. It is difficult for children trying to do their homework. It is restricted in terms of preparing meals. In general it leads to untold amounts of stress.

The hubs are custom developed to facilitate much better responses to the needs of homeless families. They allow for on-site access to necessary services such as health, housing, cooking, and laundry facilities. The hubs provide a better setting for supports such as homework clubs, meeting with support workers and activities that are being organised for children and parents. Importantly, while far from ideal, they have play areas, which allow children to be children, and parents some peace of mind.

When I met with Advocacy groups a year ago, these were among the issues that they highlighted. They also pressed me to provide free childcare for families that are homeless, which I have done. Initially this was available in Dublin. Many other counties have since signed up. It is currently available in Limerick, Cork, Cavan, Clare, Donegal, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Offaly, Westmeath and Wicklow. We will make arrangements also to support any cases that are brought to our attention outside of these counties.

I have a budget of €4m for this. In my opinion it is a well- targeted and much needed support for families that are homeless. It is good for children and good for parents. At the moment the parents of 94 children are availing of this. 112 providers have signed up to be part of the scheme. Child care providers get a grant of €110 per week to cover 25 hours of childcare. Families with children aged 0-5 years inclusive are identified by Focus Ireland and encouraged to participate. I will continue to support children and families with free childcare that move from hotels and B&B accommodation into hubs.

These children will also continue to be prioritised in terms of the school completion programme. The School Completion Programme identifies and supports children at risk of not reaching their potential in the educational system. It does this through initiatives such as afterschool supports, homework clubs, mentoring programmes, therapeutic interventions and breakfast clubs.

Sadly, I am aware that families become homeless during the course of the year and may not be on the target list drawn up by the SCP at the start of the school year. For this reason all SCP programmes are now engaging with their schools on an ongoing basis, and not just at the start of the year, to ensure that children receive the appropriate supports. The Education Welfare Office also prioritise the sourcing of an appropriate school placement for children who are homeless. In DEIS schools where there is a Home School Community Liaison the Co-ordinator proactively engages with parents who are experiencing homelessness. The HSCL also supports families to access any other services that can be of assistance to the family. The Tusla Homeless Liaison officer will continue to work with these families until such time as they are moved to permanent housing.

Tusla will offer “one stop shop” assessments at the hubs. The agency will participate in respect of child protection and welfare services, educational welfare, and Domestic, Sexual and gender based violence services. With the help of the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, Tusla has arranged an awareness and training session for homeless service providers on Domestic, sexual and gender based violence. We will continue to offer services through the Family Resource Centres. Families living in hubs can continue to avail of the services such as family fun days, play therapy and transport services.

When developing the Government’s response to our Homeless Crisis I advocated strongly for the plan Rebuilding Ireland to include a commitment to provide children in emergency accommodation with LEAP cards for school journeys. While this did not happen as quickly as I would have liked, it did happen. In my meeting with Minister Murphy this week I emphasised the need to continue providing these to children who are in hubs and need to use public transport to travel to school. In addition five separate 24 hour family LEAP cards were provided to all homeless families in hotels during 2016. I know that people found these helpful in terms of giving them family days out. I wish to see this repeated this year.

Children and Young People Service Committees have been established in each of the 17 Tusla areas with relevant coordinators in place. They will contribute to greater interagency working and help to ensure that there is a coordinated approach on homelessness. The Tusla Homeless Liaison Officer has contacted the 5 CYPSC coordinators in Dublin and attended briefing sessions with them. They must each now consider the best approach and response within their specific area to homeless related matters. This will include working with families living in hubs. This briefing session is scheduled to take place in each of the 17 areas.

At the end of May, there were 1,312 families homeless. There are 2,777 children in these homeless families. 647 homeless families are being accommodated in hotels and B&Bs in Dublin. These are shocking figures. In my role as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, I have concentrated my efforts around minimising the impact where and when possible. I will continue to do this.