Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will move on to another issue, but with respect, it is the same spiel – engagement, engagement, engagement - but there must be a point where the situation is resolved and the bank does something different.

The bank holds 569 vacant properties following repossessions. Permanent TSB is also owned by the State and when one takes the properties owned by the two institutions, more than 1,000 houses are lying vacant at this point. That is criminal in the extreme when we see figures released yesterday by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive and when we hear about rough sleepers. There are multiple families in the hotel I stayed in last night. A hotel room is now their home and has been for some months, and in some cases for years. We must move in an aggressive way to ensure those houses are used to deal with people who are homeless.

This morning the Minister spoke about 200 houses in total being bought by the Housing Agency before the end of the year. Can the bank do anything with the 569 houses to make sure they are used to deal with the housing crisis?