Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is what the county council's executives told us based on the budget they had been given. We hear much about what councils will get and how that will work. We have heard of many housing targets from the Minister of State in particular. When it comes to bricks and mortar and people waiting on housing lists, unfortunately, the words have not matched the action on the ground.

The motion mentions €100 million for building social housing between 2013 and 2014. Although we have heard this kind of number from the Minister of State previously, we have seen little of substance emerge in the aftermath. The housing budget has been cut by €58 million this year. Since taking office, the Government has cut nearly €300 million from the budget. Where will the €100 million come from and what will it represent in terms of social housing? At the end of last year, we were told that there would be €30 million for social housing. It soon became apparent that not all was as it seemed, and that it was really just a case of shifting money around to make it look as if something new was on offer. There are many visuals, press conferences, etc., but very little in the way of bricks, mortar and houses.

The Government must get serious about delivering housing. There is no point in tabling Private Members' motions to the House and wringing hands about the issue when there is no real action on the ground. One cannot have a housing-led policy without houses. Last year, Sinn Féin's motion on housing proposed that a number of funding mechanisms, including the European Investment Bank, EIB, be used to raise funds to build 9,000 homes over two years. This was ignored, but we have learned that the Department only recently made its first submission to the EIB. Ideas such as social housing bands that were mentioned in the programme for Government have gone nowhere.

Various organisations dealing with the bread and butter issues on the ground have aired their concerns about this issue.

According to the Simon Community the latest Government statistics indicate that there are 89,982,000 households on the social housing waiting lists nationwide. That is a scandal. The fact that people are in urgent need of social housing at a time when the State has virtually ceased construction of additional housing is unacceptable. The Simon Community has already highlighted that the provision for the housing stimulus package in budget 2014, although welcome, was very limited. The Government's commitment to end long-term homelessness by 2016 using a housing-led approach will not be realised without the availability of suitable housing with support. This is at a time when many people are being priced out of the private rental sector, which not only puts people at risk of homelessness but prevents people moving out of homelessness. It is clear that the people on the ground do not believe that the Government policy is working or will deliver the houses needed.

Another issue of concern in this regard is the draconian cuts in social welfare, in particular for young people. The social welfare payment for young people was cut to €100, which drove many of them out of the country. Perhaps it was a deliberate policy of Government to make remaining here so untenable they would take the bád bán or a flight and go somewhere else. For those who did not have the wherewithal to get out of the country, the reduction in payment has left them in dire straits. These are the types of people who are finding themselves homeless.

I know through my membership of the joint policing committee in Galway that there is an increase in alcoholism, domestic violence and so on. These are also factors in people becoming homeless. Those who are living on our streets are in dire straits, with many of them having mental health issues and no support available to them to help them get back on their feet. This is again due to cutbacks in the health area.

Although homelessness comes under the remit of the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, I believe it is part of the scourge of the broader economic austerity policies put forward by this Fine Gael-Labour party Government, which are based on the model set up previously by Fianna Fáil. That people find themselves in difficult situations is exacerbating the fact that we have more people homeless on our streets. For Labour Senators to come into this House this evening and pat themselves on the back in regard to how well they are doing in regard to homeless policy is laughable. It is an insult to all the people who do not have a home to go to tonight and who will not be provided by any local authority with a roof over their heads, thereby giving them somewhere to call home.