COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, May 08, 2023
QUESTION NO. 2
QUESTION: Councillor Carly Bailey
To ask the Chief Executive for a report on emergency accommodation in SDCC over the last five years. Report to include the number of emergency accommodation beds available to in the SDCC area and to detail any capacity issues
REPLY:
There are currently 506 homeless households on the Council’s housing list comprising the following:
- Single Males: 229
- Single Females 74
- Couples: 24
- Households with Children: 179.
To date in 2023, 47 allocations have been made to homeless households.
129 homeless households are currently availing of self-accommodate options in hotel or bed and breakfast accommodation. Our Homeless Unit continues to provide assistance to those who find themselves homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and work with DRHE to organise emergency accommodation for those assessed as homeless through the Assessment and Placement Service. Emergency accommodation for homeless households across Dublin is sourced on a regional basis by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive in partnership with this Council and other Dublin local authorities. Within South Dublin County, the following emergency accommodation is currently provided:
Family Hubs:
- High Street Family Hub (Abberley): a privately managed facility with 58 rooms (including 9 large family rooms) which is currently fully occupied with 54 households, some of whom require more than one room due to family size.
- Firhouse Family Hub: managed by Respond Housing with 20 rooms and currently fully occupied by 20 households.
- Springfield Family Hub: also managed by Respond Housing and fully occupied accommodating 12households in 12 family rooms.
- Cappaghmore Family Hub: Recently opened facility managed by Peter McVerry Trust, comprising 8 rooms for smaller families (see update in Chief Executive’s Report for April Council meeting monthly-report-april-2023-final.pdf (sdcc.ie))
Accommodation for Singles:
- Finnstown: privately managed facility comprising 45 rooms (with capacity for sharing) for single females
- Killininey: managed by Peter McVerry Trust with capacity for 21 for single males
- Kiltipper: managed by Peter McVerry Trust with capacity for 15 single males
- Riversdale House, managed by Dublin Simon, with 25 rooms for single, older persons.
Refuge facilities, provided and managed by Saoirse supported by the Council, are operational in Tallaght and Rathcoole to support women and children escaping domestic violence and abuse. Additional supported/step down/transitional accommodation is also provided by approved housing bodies and other voluntary organisations including at Neilstown, Springfield, Kiltalown and Glencarrig.
The Council, in conjunction with the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, will continue to explore potential options for additional family hubs and other supported accommodation in the County.
Our Homeless Outreach Worker is currently actively engaged with eight rough sleepers identified in the most recent local count of rough sleepers, but we do not collate official numbers of “sofa surfers”. While there is currently adequate emergency accommodation to facilitate those rough sleeping, offers of such accommodation are often refused and their needs can be complex and require a coordinated response and we work with the Dublin Simon Outreach team and other agencies to provide appropriate supports.
The Council does not collate official figures in relation to new arrivals, whether Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection in relation to the Ukraine or International Protection Applicants, in the County being provided with accommodation through the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.