Some homeless hostels are operating with just one staff member on duty

Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) has been inspecting homeless hostels run by private companies and found, its reports show, that some hostels are operating with just one staff member on duty. 

In one case, a staff member was alone running a family hostel with more than 100 people in it, an inspector noted in their report. “One staff member not enough for a large facility,” they wrote. 

A spokesperson for DRHE said that the private company that runs that hostel has since increased staff numbers.

But, for other family hostels – with occupancies ranging from 62 people to 78 people and with only one staff member on duty – the DRHE didn’t address queries as to whether that was a problem.

“The records referred to are 2 family services with one staff member on duty in each one,” the spokesperson said. 

The DRHE spokesperson confirmed that five other inspectors' reports also show one staff member running hostels for single adults with between 28 and 40 people living in them. 

“That is madness,” says Louisa Santoro, CEO of the Mendicity Institution, which is a day centre for people experiencing homelessness

Every day in homeless services is different, she says, and sometimes multiple serious incidents can happen at one time. People have seizures, they have overdoses, illnesses, or someone could faint. 

People pass away in homeless services too, says Santoro. “A single person is not a sufficient level of staff to run any homeless service.”

Since 2022, DRHE and an independent company have regularly inspected private hostels and charity-run hostels – including 568 unannounced visits – according to a recently published action plan. 

A spokesperson for the DRHE says that unannounced inspections have seen standards improve in both private and charity-run hostels. “Unannounced inspections allow the DRHE to identify issues and ensure that the PEA [private emergency accommodation] or NGO service takes corrective action.”

Opposition housing spokespersons in the Dáil have flagged the need for higher standards and independent inspections for all homeless facilities. 

“I think it’s shocking and disgraceful that you would have children and families in a hostel or family hub with one staff member,” says Rory Hearne, Social Democrats TD and housing spokesperson. 

“Accommodation providers are making significant profits off of this,” Hearne says. “It's a shameful situation.”

Fire safety 

The inspection reports for charity-run hostels also picked up on problems in a few hostels, mostly with fire-safety issues, such as regular fire drills not being carried out. 

In one inspection report the inspector found that the staff said they would silence the fire panel if the alarm went off. 

“Staff advised if the alarm goes off they silence it and if it comes back on then they check it out??” wrote the inspector. 

A spokesperson for the DRHE said that the operator has now provided fire-safety training to its staff and replaced a faulty fire panel in the hostel. 

In another hostel the inspector noted staff concerns about how they would evacuate the top floor of the building if there were a fire. 

The DRHE spokesperson said that issue has been addressed now. The provider has created a fire evacuation plan for each resident, says the spokesperson. “The service has followed up with refresher training for security and on-call night staff.”

Overall, the DRHE spokesperson says that there is a good level of compliance with fire safety across private and charity-run hostels. 

“Fire safety compliance across all emergency accommodation is very strong,” says the spokesperson. “The point of inspections is to test any weaknesses in the standards and follow up on where these are not to the satisfaction of the inspector.”

Short staffing 

According to the standards for private hostels, which the DRHE launched in 2022, the private hostel staff are supposed to support people in terms of their health and well-being, including training and work opportunities.

Staff should make referrals to primary health services, like GPs or dentists and specialist health services including addiction and mental-health services, it says. 

“Services participate in promotions to raise awareness of training, education and employment opportunities for residents,” it says. 

Santoro says that it would be impossible for one person to do any of that for people while running a service alone.

Aside from their obligations to run a social-care facility properly, she doesn’t think one person could run a commercial hotel on their own, either, she says. “If it were a hotel, you would say it was understaffed.”

Five reports in the private hostel inspections show one staff member working in hostels for single people, with occupancy ranging from 28 to 40 people. 

The DRHE spokesperson said that: “In both the contract agreements and Service Level Agreements, the onus is on the provider (NGO or PEA) to ensure there are adequate staffing levels”. 

The number of staff varies depending on the size and/or the nature of the service, she says. “The capacity of the staff onsite is tested during the fire drill, and the onus is on the PEA provider to ensure there is adequate cover.”

“Each PEA and NGO service is required to complete at least one Fire Drill onsite per quarter,” says the DRHE spokesperson. “The record is kept onsite in a Fire Register, the staff/occupant ratio is tested during the fire drill, and the onus is on the provider to ensure there is adequate cover.”

Under no circumstances should any one person be left running a homeless service, regardless of whether the facility is for single people or families with children, says Santoro, the CEO of Mendicity.

She wonders how the practice is legal. Workers have a legal right to take breaks, so does that mean that there is no one on duty while the worker is on their break?

“The DRHE should be insisting on a reasonable level of staff. That is really bad management,” she says. 

A better model

Santoro says that the problem with privatising social-care services is that there is an incentive then for operators to cut corners, to maximise profits. 

A charity-run hostel is funded for each person’s salary, so the money they get can only go on those salaries and there is no incentive to scale back on staff numbers, she says. 

Sinn Féin TD and housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin says it's good that there are now some inspections of homeless services. 

Short staffing in private hostels is a symptom of a bigger problem, he says, in that there are two different sets of standards for homeless accommodation – one for private hostels and one for charity-run hostels. 

“There should be a single set of quality standards,” Ó Broin says.

The DRHE also shouldn’t be tasked with inspecting the services it funds, he says. “Ultimately, we need a comprehensive, independent inspectorate to achieve full compliance with all the standards.”

Hearne, the Social Democrats TD, wonders how the state can meet its legal duty to children, when there is such acute short staffing in hostels. “Is it actually properly safeguarding vulnerable people, including adults but particularly children?” 

The DRHE has been given the responsibility of running homeless services, but it should be better resourced, he says.

Ultimately, it’s the responsibility of the Minister for Housing, Fianna Fáil TD James Browne, to ensure that homeless hostels are safe environments for people who are stuck in them, Hearne says. 

“How can that be guaranteed in a place where you have one staff member?” he asks.