COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, December 13, 2021
QUESTION NO.14
QUESTION: Councillor M. Johansson
To ask the Chief Executive to produce a report on the homeless hubs in the county, including the waiting lists for same and the numbers currently accommodated in them?
REPLY:
Three family hubs are in operation in South Dublin County at present with the following capacity:
- High Street Family Hub (Abberley), a privately managed facility with 58 rooms (including 9 large family rooms);
- Firhouse Family Hub with 20 rooms and managed by Respond Housing;
- Springfield Family Hub accommodating 12 families and also managed by Respond Housing.
The number of families accommodated in the High Street and Firhouse Family hubs depends on the family sizes as several families generally require more than one room and numbers in hubs fluctuate regularly as families move onto HAP properties or social housing tenancies. There are 42 households currently in self-accommodation that are a priority to support moving into a HAP supported tenancy or into a short-term placement in a hub as vacancies occur.
Family hubs are not intended as a long-term solution for families but they are an important response for households that become homeless and have no alternative other than self-accommodation. Hubs provide short-term but more stable and appropriate accommodation that includes play space, cooking & laundry facilities and communal recreation space. This relative stability allows families to pursue longer term private rented accommodation through HAP support, with the assistance of on-site key workers, or social housing tenancies. In context of continuing requirements for self-accommodation, opportunities to provide additional family hub spaces across the County.