Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan has called on the Minister for Housing to correct the Dáil record following misleading statements in relation to standards in homeless hostels.
Cian O’Callaghan, who is the party’s spokesperson for Housing, said:
“In the Dáil last Thursday, the Minister for Housing stated that the National Quality Standards Framework applies to all providers of emergency accommodation for homeless people – including private providers.
“However, on Friday, Brendan Kenny of Dublin City Council confirmed at the Oireachtas Housing Committee that these standards are not in fact being applied to private for-profit providers of emergency accommodation.
“The Minister must come before the Dáil and correct the record, and the Government must act swiftly to ensure that the National Standards applies to all providers of homeless accommodation, including private providers.
“Over the last few years, there has been a huge growth in the use of for-profit private providers of emergency accommodation – many with very poor conditions.
“In the recent RTÉ Investigates programme on homelessness, Natalie, who was interviewed for the programme, said she felt safer sleeping in a tent than in emergency accommodation. These substandard conditions are utterly unacceptable.”
February 3, 2021