Homelessness charity safeguarding
Deputy O'Callaghan raised alleged sexual assaults on young homeless people after contact with a homelessness organisation and called for Garda vetting and stronger standards across all services. The Taoiseach said the charity's activities and legal issues needed examination and stressed that mainstream providers are subject to oversight.
A number of young people experiencing homelessness have come forward and reported that after seeking help from a homelessness organisation, they were subjected to serious sexual assault. This highlights how crucial it is that everyone working with vulnerable people on our streets and in emergency accommodation be Garda vetted. It is also critical that the national quality standards framework for homelessness services be applied to all services and emergency accommodation for people experiencing homelessness and not just some providers, as is currently the case. In addition, services and accommodation for people experiencing homelessness must be inspected regularly to ensure compliance with these standards.
Will the Government commit to ensuring that everyone working with people experiencing homelessness is properly Garda vetted? Will it further ensure that the national quality standards framework is applied to all providers of services and accommodation for people experiencing homelessness?
Comment on this
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The issues that have arisen surrounding the charity, Inner City Helping Homeless, need to be examined and dealt with. I understand legal processes are under way in respect of the future of the organisation. It operated outside of the scope of mainstream homelessness services provided by local authorities and voluntary NGOs, which are subject to a range of oversight arrangements and standards. That is an important point. In the context of the homelessness issue, there are many strong conventional providers and we have to be alert to new groups appearing overnight to deal with homelessness issues more generally. That has been an ongoing issue. The organisation did not receive statutory funding from the local authority for its services. Issues have been raised around the role of the Charities Regulator in this case, while the Deputy and others have raised the Garda vetting issue. There is a concern that not all of those working in homelessness services are being vetted, and the time has come to examine that issue-----