Maria Bailey (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I let three non-members of the committee contribute before I had a chance to ask a question. I thank the witnesses for attending this morning. I do not disagree with much of what was said, or the sentiment. I am not sure how much Ms Farha knows of where Ireland has come from or what policies were in place here previously, but the initial action plan on dealing with homelessness was dealing with it in isolation, and that cannot be done. We changed that into the Rebuilding Ireland plan. Ms Farha spoke about a strategy that must prioritise those in most need. Our strategy does that; the most vulnerable people in society always have to be looked after first. That plan was not just a Government plan. Some members here might have made submissions to that plan in some shape or form, as well as various organisations, economists, chartered surveyors, architects, the Peter McVerry Trust and the Simon Community. All of these parties were involved in putting the plan together, which sought to deal with the totality of the housing problem and not just to treat it as an isolated issue. That is the strategy we are working off.

Someone mentioned that the first can had been kicked and that the second can should now be kicked. The second can is Rebuilding Ireland, and it takes a wide approach in terms of the issue. I am not saying it is a perfect plan, but rather that it is the Government policy and that many people contributed to it. We were dealing with a construction sector wherein activity had dropped by 90%. We had mass emigration. I do not really want to look back on that time because we have come so far since then, but I just want to provide some context. We are trying to rebuild a country and the construction industry after unemployment had reached 16%. Dealing with that issue had to be the priority at the time.

A whole-of-Government, cross-departmental approach must be taken. Housing First is an example of such an approach. An inter-agency group was established in September 2017 to co-ordinate the responses of people with complex medical and health needs, as well as for those from other countries who may not have housing rights in Ireland but are trapped in emergency accommodation. A cross-departmental approach is taken when it comes to housing. Such an approach must be taken. The Departments of Health, Children and Youth Affairs, Public Expenditure and Reform and Housing, Planning and Local Government are all involved. A cross-departmental approach is being taken, and people can argue about that, agree or disagree or say that there are imperfections or that it is perfect. I am not going to get into that, but it is actually happening.

I fully recognise what Mr. Joyce has said about leaning on the private sector, but in order to increase supply and to get the construction sector and financial institutions up and running, we are, unfortunately, reliant on a private rental market. Our local authorities lost many members of staff and expertise during the downturn. They also did not have the finances from 2008 onward to address the problems. That has all taken time, but we are two years into a five year plan. Our aim is that, by 2021, more people are in social housing supports than are in the private rental market schemes, such as HAP or RAS. In my eyes, one homeless child or one homeless family is far too many. I will not get into numbers; I hate putting numbers on the number of people who are going through difficult situations because each one is different and each needs a different response. There is probably no one-size-fits-all solution. I am of the view that we should treat people with respect when it comes to that.

Ms Farha does not have the time to answer many questions today. I would have loved to have gone further in this discussion. What has been done to get us to this point has not been mentioned. It has not been perfect, but we have achieved a great deal in very difficult circumstances and with a budget of approximately €6 billion. Local authorities are now coming forward with ambitious plans on over 700 sites around the country where we can provide affordability, cost rental and social housing. It cannot happen overnight. Those proposals are now coming in. I was at a launch of 12 houses last week in Dún Laoghaire where people were getting their keys. We are starting to see results. It is taking time, and it will take more time, which we can only expect.

I wanted to put into context the difficulties we have had and the point we are arriving at now. One solution does not solve a housing crisis. I say to Deputy Ó Broin regularly that we may differ on how we propose achieving that solution, but everybody here wants that solution, for every family to be housed and for every individual to have a roof over his or her head.

I disagree with the proposal to insert housing as a right into the Constitution. I do not have time to go into that because I let non-members of the committee speak before me, but I am sure we will have the chance to discuss the matter at another meeting.

We have to balance what is being done and what needs to be done. We need to do a great deal more. However, what we have done to get to this point has not been reflected in the meeting. I am trying to provide a little of balance to that. The priority is to put a roof over people's heads. Whatever their circumstances, it is not for us to discriminate against anybody. Deputy Mick Barry asked Ms Farha a direct question. I do not know if she has time to answer it.