Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following:
"notes-- with deep concern the rising numbers of homeless across Dublin;
- the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive's confirmation that rough sleeping in the city has increased by "a shocking 200% in the past 12 months";
- that Focus Ireland had reported an 18% increase in demand for its services this year;
-the underlying causes of the dramatic increase in rent levels across Dublin and the impact of harsh social welfare cuts on vulnerable households; further notes-- that an estimated 3,000 housing units are needed to address long-term homelessness;
- that social housing waiting lists have increased to include some 90,000 households across the country;
- that, in 2012, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, stated that "2,000 housing units would be made available in 2012 to people on social housing lists" through NAMA;and condemns-- the failure of the Government to drive on the transfer of the 4,000 NAMA properties earmarked by the agency for social housing in order to alleviate the current deficit;
- the consistent delays in transferring NAMA properties, with only 450 transferred to date despite the fact that ten times that amount has been identified by NAMA as suitable;
- the inadequate response of the Government to the crisis, with the repackaging of old announcements and the provision of just 600 social housing units earmarked for construction in 2014;and calls on-- the Government to live up to its pledge to end long-term homelessness by 2016 and introduce steps to address the social housing waiting list crisis;
- the Minister of State with responsibility for housing to outline a specific plan encompassing set targets on transferring NAMA housing; and
- the creation of a transfer unit to help local authority housing sections deal with the transfer of NAMA property."

It is somewhat surreal that we find ourselves in the position of having to submit an amendment to a Government motion that is entirely self-congratulatory in its claims regarding the homelessness crisis. Most people outside this House do not agree with the Government's self-assessment. Fr. Peter McVerry, a person I hold in high esteem for the work he is doing in this city, said before Christmas, "After 30 years of working to eliminate homelessness, I believe the problem is now worse than ever, perhaps even out of control". He went on to say that homelessness is a political problem which can only be solved through the provision of housing, which is the responsibility of the Government.

Today we are debating a motion that praises the Government for its efforts to tackle homelessness at a time when a leading campaigner, with three decades of experience, is saying the problem is out of control. People come into politics to make a difference, not to praise themselves when things are going wrong. The Government is talking about allocating funds for the provision of 600 housing units between 2014 and 2015. That is an absolute joke. Given that some 98,000 people are on local authority waiting lists, a capital investment of €100 million will allow only 0.6% of them to be taken off those lists. What will happen to the other 99.4%? Does the Minister of State have an answer to that question?