Housing authority not obliged to provide mother and son with emergency accommodation

Mother is first named applicant - son born in 2010 is second named applicant - second named applicant has sensory difficulties and behavioural and emotional issues - applicants sought emergency accommodation - difficulties arose and Guards were called - first named applicant was then informed that she would not be eligible for further funds for emergency accommodation - first named applicant staged a sit-in at emergency accomodation with volunteer workers and was charged by Gardaí - applicants solicitor wrote to respondent's solicitor - respondent replied stating that the applicants could reasonably be expected to use alternative accommodation until such time as she can rent a property - the respondent included a list of the applicant's family accommodation - on 3rd July, 2017, the applicants obtained leave by way of an application for judicial review for an order of certiorari quashing the decision of the respondent and an order of mandamus directing the respondent to consider the applicants application for homelessness - respondent was not referring to 'alternative accomodation' as provided in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 (“the Act of 2009”) - respondent has discretion to refuse to provide accommodation - not the function of this Court to direct a local authority as to how it should deploy its resources or as to the manner in which it should prioritise the performance of its various statutory functions - allocation of housing is a matter within the competence and expertise of the housing authority and it is not the function of the court to direct how that policy is to be applied in any particular case - application refused.