Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Well done to Mr. Moran on the accounts. There are no issues whatsoever identified by the Comptroller and Auditor General. It is important to put that on the record. I thank Mr. Moran for that. We have no issues. I will now go into the substance and the Department's opening statement. I am not sure whether it was with Mr. Moran himself but I raised a particular issue with the Department the last time it was before the committee. I have great difficulty with something in the opening statement which reads:

I am encouraged by the robust pace of the recovery in the economy, with GDP increasing by 6.7% last year. The increase in economic activity is broadly based and economic fundamentals are strong. Ireland remains one of the fastest growing economies in the EU.

I have great difficulty with that statement. Reference is also made to our credit rating, which really reflects more on what suits the agencies who produce the ratings. I put no emphasis on that whatsoever. The reason I have great difficulty with this statement is that I have just checked and, as of yesterday, we had 10,378 people homeless, comprising 6,584 adults and 3,794 children. I cannot square that figure with that paragraph. Either I am ignorant or uneducated in these matters or the Department is taking a very narrow view of the economy and fiscal policy. I cannot accept that we are the fastest growing country in Europe and that we are fundamentally sound when that is our position. I will finish with this point and then I will ask some questions. We are now in a situation in which accommodation meant for tourists, that is to say, hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation, is used to house homeless people while the accommodation meant to house our people, that is to say, houses, is being used for tourism through Airbnb. Does Mr. Moran accept that is the position? I have great difficulty with this statement.