Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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1217. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the steps his Department is taking to ensure that LGBTQ+ individuals are protected in emergency accommodation settings; if comprehensive training on LGBTQ+ competency is mandatory for council housing and homeless service staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19391/25]

James Browne (Wexford, 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 role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at a local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of homeless services rests with individual local authorities.

To assist in ensuring that homeless services provided are of a high standard, a National Quality Standards Framework was developed by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive in partnership with the HSE, the NGO sector and other key stakeholders. The Standards Framework is now in place nationally for all local authority and NGO services.

One of the key objectives of the Standards is to promote the provision of person-centred services, which are safe and effective, and support the rights and equal treatment of persons at risk of or experiencing homelessness. The Standards also focus on the organisational capability and capacity to deliver high quality services including ensuring that staff can respond effectively to the range of service users’ needs. Training of staff is matter for individual local authorities and service providers.

In line with commitments made in both the Programme for Government and Housing for All, a national Youth Homelessness Strategy was published in November 2022. The Strategy aims to help young people aged 18 – 24 who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, with 27 actions to prevent youth homelessness; improve the experiences of young people accessing emergency accommodation; and assist young people in exiting homelessness.

The Strategy recognises that there are certain cohorts of young people, including members of the LGBTI+ community, at a heightened risk of experiencing homelessness and provides specific actions for each cohort. Action 19 outlines the need to offer LGBTI+ Youth Homelessness Training Workshops for service providers to ensure a better understanding of LGBTI+ issues and the various forms of discrimination and Action 20 commits to developing privacy and safety strategies for young LGBTI+ people using emergency accommodation. Work is underway on ensuring implementation of both actions.

A Steering Group has been established under the auspices of the National Homeless Action Committee to drive the delivery of all actions within the Strategy. A copy of the Strategy can be accessed on my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/69597-youth-homelessness-strategy/