Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I compliment our guests on the work they do individually and collectively throughout society in very difficult and challenging circumstances. Unfortunately, the position has become more challenging and difficult with the passage of time. We all encounter at the coalface the social issues that emerge daily, record the extent to which we are capable of addressing them and ask whether we are winning or losing the battle. Unfortunately, as we come under more and more pressure, we are sliding and I believe losing the battle, but that is not a reflection on the services provided by the Simon Communities of Ireland.

Housing is the kernel of many of our current problems which date back to a change in housing policy introduced approximately 20 years ago. I do not know the reason for this change or from where the wisdom for it came because it was not a wise decision. I made myself very unpopular at local level by slating this change in policy and at the time I predicted what has since come to pass. I refer to the decision to shift responsibility for providing houses from local authorities to what are known as approved housing bodies. These bodies were supposed to be the answer to everything, but they could not and never will be the answer to everything. The answer is for local authorities to start building quality houses again.

We also started to build duplex houses, which involves building homes on top of each other. I remember having an argument one night about this practice. In some cases, four houses are built on top of each other and the front door of some houses is located under an outside stairwell. Everybody likes to have a hall door because it gives people dignity and self-respect and also shows respect for them. Parity of esteem comes with what is around a person. I could not believe the architecture of some of the housing schemes built. People who were suffering from social deprivation were placed in this type of setting which made matters even worse. The position is appalling. I could go on a rant for at least two hours about it, but I promise the Chairman that I will not do so.

A large number of people are affected by the issues we are discussing, whereas previously only a small number fell off the edge. I cite the example of a young girl living in a socially deprived area in a household in which other members of the family may be engaged in substance abuse. If she becomes pregnant at 15 or 16 years, the cycle will start all over again, without her ever having had a chance to be a child, in the first instance, or to raise a family because she has no experience, no one to advise her and no support in the household. The family unit is absent from this scenario which causes multiple problems.

Sheltered housing is needed for people who are at the bottom of this scale because the alternatives are sleeping rough and night shelters. Sheltered housing will work, but we have a long way to go before we will have even provided general housing. Sheltered housing is the answer because it involves supervision and medical services can be laid on. There is also someone available who will inform a person about what will be done for him or her.

In recent times I have seen a considerable number of reformed alcohol and drug addicts, many more than one would have seen years ago. This is a great achievement and I compliment those who have been involved in this area. The cycle continues when depression occurs and leads to substance abuse and homelessness.

Local authorities must take much more seriously their responsibility to provide quality housing and in respect of what goes on in some houses. There is no sense in having some poor family eventually being allocated a local authority house only to find they are living next door to a dysfunctional family who trade in drugs and have people coming and going on at all hours of the night. How can we expect a family who are already under pressure to survive in that environment? Everyone tends to be dragged down in such circumstances.

I am not afraid to criticise the Government and have done so from the inside and outside for many years.

Unless we deal with the housing situation in a serious manner, in the shortest possible time, we will have further problems. In three, four or five years' time it will be worse. We can throw our hands up and ask what is the cause? The cause is simple. There is no accommodation. We have a bigger population than we had; it is almost double what it was in the 1950s. We cannot presume that we can manage in the same old way, in particular in off-loading responsibilities to other bodies and agencies when the State should deal with those requirements itself. Mine is a commentary, I am not asking questions. I have been dealing with this issue for so many years that I get depressed myself from time to time. I am sure the Chairman would not want me to get depressed.