Ms Funke Tobun:

Most of us would not get mortgage approval. We are paying very high rent. I am paying €1,450 for a three-bedroom house. It is difficult for me to save up for a deposit. That would be about €20,000 to €30,000. My husband is a taxi driver and I am a care assistant. We are giving all the money we make back to the landlord, so we have nothing left. That is why we are appealing today for the committee to look into this proposal to find a solution. It should look into the rent of the house. The landlord has too much power over the tenants. The committee should look to keep the tenants in their houses, rather than being woken by a landlord telling them they are being evicted and throwing them out on the street. This is happening to 40 people and we do not know who is going to be in this position next, so we are appealing today that the committee, the housing Minister and all the Deputies would look into our proposal and come to our rescue before we end up on the street. We already have 265 families in homeless shelters in Dublin 15. How many more are going? We are looking at around 200 children and their families going by the end of the year. We are appealing for a solution fast.