Cork City Council says it is not responsible for the health and safety of people it places in emergency accommodation.
It was responding to a question raised after it emerged the council is facing a potential annual bill of at least €1m to accommodate people it turned down for council housing after Garda checks.
Under social housing regulations, applicants have to provide details of convictions under a number of specified statutes relating to anti-social behaviour and public order offences.
This could involve individuals who may not have convictions but who may have come to the attention of the gardaí and people who may still be before the courts.
However, they may not have declared this on their housing application.
As reported by the Irish Examiner, there are 29 families or individuals who have been refused a council housing allocation after checks were made with gardaí.
As a result, they have to remain in private emergency accommodation or are housed there as a temporary alternative.
This, however, potentially brings them into contact with some of the most vulnerable people in society, including homeless single mothers and their children.
And with private accommodation in Cork city being about €111, the bill for 29 families and individuals is estimated to be at least €22,000-a-week or more than €1 million-a-year.
A council spokesperson said: “The Council is obliged to pay costs as charged for all families eligible for emergency accommodation.
“This is irrespective of their individual circumstances. The risk of the Council not paying for such accommodation could render any family without shelter.
“Emergency accommodation is provided through a range of hostels, family hub, hotels and B&Bs, so costs will vary depending on where the accommodation is being provided.”
The council was also asked how it feels about safety issues that could arise as a result of people with criminal convictions living alongside some of the most vulnerable people in society.
It replied: “The health and safety provisions in emergency accommodation facilities are the responsibility of the organisation providing these facilities.
“The Council is responsible for managing its own estates and facilities. It has no function or right to get involved in third party organisations.”
The council also said the process to determine a person or family’s qualification for social housing support is covered in the Social Housing Assessment Regulations of 2011.
And it is applicable to apply to all housing authorities in the country.
In order to be considered for social housing support, applicant households are required to provide the housing authority with a range of information.
This includes details of offences and/or convictions received by any members of the household.
A housing authority may, for the purposes of its functions under the Housing Acts of 1966-2009, request and obtain information from other bodies, including An Garda Síochana and the Criminal Assets Bureau.
This information is required to enable the housing authority to consider exercising its powers under section 14 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997.
This provision allows a housing authority to refuse to make or to defer making an allocation of a dwelling to a person where the authority considers they have engaged in anti-social behaviour or that an allocation to that person would not be in the interest of good estate management.