Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

They are not homes but a first response. In the first half of this year 467 families left emergency accommodation and moved into homes, an increase of 45% on the number in 2018. While things are very bad and we face a huge challenge, we are increasing the supports and getting more families and children out of emergency accommodation.

On the question about the position in Cork, we need more rental properties in this country. I am awaiting the latest rental sector data for the second quarter from the RTB's rent index. They will be available in the next couple of weeks, but the data for quarter 1 show that there increases in the numbers of landlords and tenancies. That is good because, for a long time, they were decreasing, putting greater pressure on emergency accommodation. With fewer landlords and fewer places to rent, there is greater housing insecurity. Perhaps it is turning back in the other direction and the quarter 2 data will give us more information in that regard. There is a need for more rental properties in Cork, but they will not come from individual landlords in bringing one or two to the market. They will only come in building more apartments. That requires build-to-rent apartments and institutional investment. As I discussed with Deputy Darragh O'Brien, we need to ensure this will continue to happen but not in a way that will unbalance the market. As of now, 10,000 of 350,000 rental properties are with institutional investors. The number is increasing and we are keeping the position under review. I have met representatives from Cork to discuss the challenges in building apartments that people can afford to buy or rent. Based on suggestions they made to me, the Minister for Finance and the Tánaiste who is a representative for Cork, we are reviewing some of the proposals to see if we can help expedite the delivery of apartments. In the latest report we have seen an increase of 150% in the number of planning permissions. The number of planning permissions for apartments now exceeds that for homes by a ratio of 5:1. If this follows through to commencements and completions, it will do a lot of the heavy lifting to help those in the rental sector and those looking to buy their own home.