I also extend my sincere sympathies to the families and friends of the two homeless people who have died. There has been increased use by the Government over the last year of private hostels for people who have become homeless, without the support services in place in accommodation provided by NGOs, and there have been reports of some very serious breaches of human rights in these hostels, such as rules about not being allowed to chat and people who have become homeless being barred for very minor infringements of these rules. Does the Tánaiste share my concern about the impact these private hostels without support services are having on homeless people? What action will the Government take to address this?

Our objective is to ensure that people who are homeless receive wraparound supports, regardless of whether they are accommodated in hostels provided by NGOs or by private providers. Those supports are obviously easier to provide in accommodation provided by an NGO or a charity than in private accommodation. When these private providers are used, it is probably out of necessity because there is no alternative available. I will ask the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien, to contact the Deputy directly and engage with him on this issue. I share his concerns but the matter may not be as clear-cut as it is sometimes presented.