Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join members in congratulating the Chairman on his new role. To add to Deputy Coppinger's comments, homelessness is an emergency and must be treated as such. It is no harm that the Dáil set a short timeframe for the committee last week as it requires members to be focused and to seek to make real and meaningful proposals. As the Chairman stated, a cross-party committee such as this should focus in its efforts on directing the Government to address the issues in the way that we see fit, having consulted the various stakeholders. On that score, the deliverables fall within four strands, namely, public and social housing, the private sector, the rental sector and those who are in mortgage difficulties. It is important that we separate these four strands and invite stakeholders with expertise who are at the coalface before the committee to be questioned on how the tools available to them can be improved to ensure delivery is accelerated. We should also direct any changes to legislation emanating from that process.

During the course of the debate last week, many people made what appeared to be reasonable suggestions in good faith. It is important that the points raised be made available to us all. Following on from the election, members of many parties and those of none had suggestions and manifestos which should be made available also. We must try to develop a plan to match that structure with a report to follow. As I said in the House last week the numbers as they are in the Dáil will be of help and assistance to a committee such as this to get the approval of the Dáil and work in conjunction with or direct the Government or its representatives to put in place the emergency measures required to address the issue. Whatever about the system in place for the provision of public and social housing, Department officials tell us they have moved the process from selection of sites to the delivery of units from eight stages to four and yet we all have instances throughout our constituencies where we are 18 months through that process and no ground has been opened. If it is down to four stages, maybe it needs to move to two stages. Department officials and those who work within the system need to be held to account in that regard. It is for us to question and tease out the difficulties to ensure the correct measures are put in place in order to deliver units because units are not being delivered. The private sector has a responsibility too and there are initiatives that could be put in place to entice it to be more successful. The area of rent allowance, the whole mortgage distress area, vulture funds and mortgage interest rates may overlap with other committees and maybe some information could be gleaned from other committees to assist us make the recommendations that can address those issues. Perhaps we can set out a timeframe to agree the way in which we will deal with this issue in, say, two meetings a week over a nine week period or whatever. Let us agree the bones of it today rather than get into the meat of it.