Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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408. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the measures he is taking to end child homelessness, in view of the fact that there are more than 3,000 homeless children and one in three homeless persons is a child; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43758/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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At the outset, it is important to clarify that policy responsibility for children who require safe accommodation without their parent(s) or guardian(s), referred to as children 'out of home', is a matter for the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

In relation to families currently residing in emergency accommodation, with associated dependents, the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness outlines a range of actions to support such households.  The long-term solution to the current homelessness issue is, of course, to increase the supply of homes and accordingly Rebuilding Ireland aims to increase and to accelerate all types of housing supply.  In particular, it seeks to achieve the delivery of 50,000 social housing homes by 2021.

It should be noted that the long-term housing needs of households in emergency accommodation will be met through a range of social housing supports, including through the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme and through general social housing allocations.  Progress is being made and, in 2016, over 3,000 sustainable exits from homelessness into independent tenancies were achieved; in the first half of 2017, over 2,000 such exits were achieved.

In addition to providing long term solutions to homeless families, housing authorities are also pursuing a range of new supported temporary accommodation initiatives. These custom-developed facilities, referred to as family hubs, offer family living arrangements with a greater level of stability than is possible in hotel accommodation, with the capacity to provide appropriate play-space, cooking and laundry facilities, communal recreation space, while move-on options to long-term independent living are identified and secured.  Furthermore, such arrangements facilitate more coordinated needs assessment and support planning including on-site access to required services, such as welfare, health, housing services and appropriate family supports.

Additional support services for families in emergency accommodation are available through the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.  These include a special provision under the existing Community Childcare Subvention Programme of free childcare for children from homeless families; a special emphasis being placed on children from homeless families through the School Completion Programme; schools with Home School Community Liaison Coordinators are proactively engaging with the parents from homeless families to assist access to any other supports that may be of assistance; and children in homeless accommodation are being prioritised within the School Completion Programme for services such as breakfast and homework clubs.