Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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414. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if provisions have been or are being made to provide PPE to homeless persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21619/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the statutory role of local authorities in addressing homelessness at local level.

As part of the response to COVID-19, my Department is working closely with the Department of Health and the HSE along with Dublin Regional Homelessness Executive and local authorities to ensure the necessary arrangements are in place to protect individuals and families accessing homeless emergency accommodation. The HSE have developed guidance for homeless services and other vulnerable groups, and local authorities and their NGO service delivery partners are operating in accordance with these guidelines. Local authorities are also liaising with their counterparts in the HSE in relation to the appropriate health response at the local level. Where personal protective equipment is to be provided to homeless individuals, it is a matter for the local authorities and their NGO service delivery partners.