Dr. Karen McAuley:

The broad points made by people so far are right. It is not only about quick fixes but measures to alleviate the trauma and stress on families. We need to consider the odds of it changing around and Ms Ward has spoken about that.

There is a broader point. Mike Allen from Focus Ireland was talking about this last week. He said the solution to homelessness is not emergency accommodation but rather housing and homes. One of the key things in broad terms is what may not necessarily be a solution but a response now. For example, we need to consider our reliance on the private rental sector in terms of facilitating families as far as possible to exit homelessness as quickly as possible. We do not see that as a solution in the longer term. It comes back to this idea of investing in housing as a social good and recognising it for what it is. Housing provides a fundamental human need for security and stability. We need investment in a scheme of public housing. I know that is not a response but in the longer term, it is a question of how we think about this. Emergency short-term measures are reactive and limited to what is possible right now, to a certain extent. We need to ensure we do not start speaking about them as long-term solutions, because they are not.