Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On the builds for next year, the target for which is 5,869, the Minister has already indicated that 900 will be purchased from the open market. The Minister said after the budget last year that he realised that the State buying from the market was having an influence and that he did not see that as a sustainable move going forward. However, the proposal to buy 900 houses this year is still in place. Some 560 of those were voids. That leaves us with a figure of 4,489. Can the Minister provide a breakdown as to what that figure consists of? I am talking about direct builds by local authorities and approved housing bodies. Does this form part of the part five housing allocation?

The Minister said that he would look at new ways of funding social housing delivery. Does he have any update on that?

I want to acknowledge the work that is being done on homelessness. The Minister has said that some 4,000 people have exited homelessness this year, and I acknowledge that. However, they have been replaced by another 4,000. The only month we have seen a reduction in homeless figures was December. For the rest of the year there has been a continual increase in the number of homeless people. We are still using hotels, despite the fact that the previous Minister had said that he hoped that practice would end by July. However, 700 families are still living in them. How are we going to get on top of this ongoing problem? We are not getting on top of it. What action can be taken? It seems to escalate on an annual basis.