Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 May 2026
658. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has conducted any analysis of the relationship between family homelessness and child protection interventions; and if he will publish any reports, reviews, or internal assessments carried out in this area. [39456/26]
View answerMy Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of local authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual local authorities.
Supporting individuals and families experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness is a priority for Government.
To assist in ensuring standards in homeless services are of a high standard, a National Quality Standards Framework (NQSF) was developed by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DRHE) in partnership with the NGO Sector, the HSE and other key stakeholders. The NQSF for homeless services operates across all local authority and NGO delivered services. The NQSF standards give service providers a framework for maintaining and improving quality and standards in their service delivery.
The NQSF provides a framework under Theme 3 for child protection interventions. The monitoring and reporting of these measures is a matter for individual local authorities.
The Government's new housing plan Delivering Homes, Building Communities recognises that homelessness is the single most pressing social issue that we face and sets out a number of key measures to address homelessness. A key measure in the plan is the development of a Child and Family Homelessness Action Plan. My Department is working closely with the Department of the Taoiseach as well as a range of key stakeholders on the development of this Plan.
A public consultation was launched in January and 60 submissions were received from a range of organisations involved in providing supports to children. An in-person stakeholder event was then held at the end of February with more than 100 individuals in attendance, including representatives from Government Departments, State bodies, local authorities and NGOs, as well as adults and children with lived experience of homelessness. A direct consultation was also held with children with lived experience of homelessness. These consultations were instrumental in informing the development of the Action Plan.
The Action Plan will set out new measures to prevent family homelessness in the first instance, to provide enhanced supports for children and parents experiencing homelessness, as well as measures to accelerate exits and reduce the time spent by children and their families in homeless emergency accommodation. The Action Plan is now being finalised and will go before the Cabinet Committee on Children on 28 May 2026.
It is intended that the Action Plan will be published by end of Q2 2026 after which a Delivery Steering Group will be established to drive progress on all actions.
