DRHE commits to equal standards in future in private homeless hostels and charity-run ones

The Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) plans in future to provide the same standards of care in hostels run by private companies as in charity-run hostels, said the director of the DRHE on Tuesday.

That’s a change.

In 2022, the DRHE – which is responsible for homeless services on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities – launched a new set of standards for private hostels, which were significantly lower than those applied to NGO or charity-run ones.

“There was a growing dependence on this form of accommodation in the Dublin region and concerns were raised here as well as in other areas,” said DRHE director Mary Hayes at a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing Local Government and Heritage on 5 March.

“The overall strategy is to align standards and service provision within PEA [private emergency accommodation] service to the NGO sector,” she said.

But they aren’t quite there yet, said Hayes.

The DRHE and HSE has employed an assertive case management team in all private hostels and according  to a report issued to the committee.

That team includes NGO staff working with drug users, case managers, clinical team, and specialised case managers working on dual diagnosis – that is people with both addictions and mental illness – as well as domestic violence and other complex cases.

TDs and senators asked at the meeting what had become of previous recommendations to phase out private hostels, what checks are in place on private operators, and whether any hostels have failed inspections.

Checking back

Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan asked how many new private hostels were opened in 2023.

John Durkan, deputy director of the DRHE, said that they opened 10 or 11 extra facilities last year, with around 1,500 new beds.

Department of Housing statistics show there are more than 6,070 adults in private hostels and 3,280 adults in supported charity-run accommodation.

Fianna Fáil Senator Mary Fitzpatrick welcomed the work by the DRHE in moving more people on from homelessness. But what happened to recommendations issued by the committee in April 2021 to phase out private hostels? she asked.

“When we did our report back in April 2021 we specifically called out two actions,” she said.

“We wanted a phasing out – an end of private emergency accommodation – and we wanted a reversal of the over-concentration of emergency accommodation in Dublin Central,” she said. “Neither of which has happened.”

More than 70 percent of emergency accommodation in the Dublin region is in the Dublin Central [Dáil constituency], said Fitzpatrick.

“I’d like to know from the department what actions specifically are being taken to address those,” she said.

David Kelly, assistant secretary in the Department of Housing, said the department’s role is policy and funding. Where and how services are delivered is for councils, he said.

“I think one of the challenges has been getting NGOs to open [supported temporary accommodation],” he said. “And that has probably led us down to more private emergency accommodation.”

So, instead the DRHE has increased support services available in the private hostels,  said Kelly.

The department is aware of the concentration of services around Gardiner Street in Dublin, said Kelly.

Fitzpatrick said she thinks that the Department of Housing could play a role in tackling the issues of concentration.

Tracking quality

In April 2021, the  Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing Local Government and Heritage  issued 17 recommendations for homeless services. One was that HIQA be appointed to inspect homeless services.

The Minister for Housing, Fianna Fáil TD Darragh O’Brien later decided against mandating HIQA to do that.

“Imposing a standard intended for medical-care facilities was not recommended,” said a spokesperson for the Department of Housing in January 2023.

“Doing so could make it more difficult to source and run homeless accommodation as well as over-extending HIQA unnecessarily,” they said.

Last year, the DRHE contracted a private company to carry out inspections. Also, its own staff visit unannounced to check standards, said Hayes, of the DRHE.

DRHE also uses self-reported key performance indicators, she said, which cover fire safety, complaints, adverse incidents, training, exclusions and child welfare.

Independent TD Violet-Anne Wynne asked whether any hostel had failed the DRHE inspection so far.

Durkan, deputy director of the DRHE, said no. “We haven’t had any failures or issues at that level.”

O’Callaghan, the Social Democrats TD, asked whether the DRHE collates feedback from people who are put up in private hostels.

Durkan said that the DRHE has a complaints process. It “is very live and very real in terms of feedback and it’s probably the best mechanism for us to gauge the pulse of a setting and engage with any issues on the ground”, he said.

DRHE-funded support services, like Focus Ireland that visit hostels and public representatives also bring forward issues, he said.

O’Callaghan asked again about the process to get user feedback. Durkan said that the independent inspectors also speak to service users.

“So every time they inspect somewhere they talk to service users?” said O’Callaghan.

“Yes,” says Durkan. “That is part of the remit.”