Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. O'Carroll for his report and all the work he does. I thank everybody who works with him as well. Their work is incredible. We are all humbled by it. I acknowledge that in his report Dr. O'Carroll says Ireland can be very proud of our response to Covid-19. He and everybody who works with him can be very proud too. It has been a tremendous response and is one we need to sustain. I agree with him on that. I also agree completely with his conclusion that it all has to start with housing. There are inequalities created by homelessness and housing poverty. We have to address those root causes. There is no dispute at all on that, and that is this Government's top priority.

In his report Dr. O'Carroll talks about collecting the data and the fact that it is an interim report because the data that are available to him are incomplete. He suggests that a database should be created to capture and report on the deaths. Which organisation does he think is best positioned to capture those data? Is it the DRHE? Is it the coroners? I would like him to advise us on that.

When we talk about homelessness and this segment of homelessness, deaths in homelessness, we see that males are disproportionately represented in the homeless population. Single males are further disproportionately represented in the homeless population generally. Really sadly, in this report that trend is mirrored absolutely. It is really alarming to see this crisis for males, and as a society we have to accept, recognise and address it. It is stark that three quarters of deaths in the homeless population between 2005 and 2015 were among males and that 33 of the 44 single deaths Dr. O'Carroll reports on, or 75%, were among males. Beyond addressing housing - there is absolutely no dispute about that, which is why I am not focusing on it - I wonder if as a society we need to explore this issue more. What are we doing to support young men and to support boys to become young men? What is it that is making them so vulnerable and so susceptible to this terrible crisis?

The report published yesterday focused on homelessness over a five-year period. It stated that in Dublin in particular we have a big issue with predominantly single homelessness and male homelessness. There is also, however, the issue that in Dublin homeless people stay in emergency accommodation for longer than in any other part of the country, exceeding six months easily. Dr. O'Carroll's data show us that those who remain in emergency accommodation for longer are more vulnerable to increased mental health issues and death, ultimately. In Dublin we see this a lot. There are two political arguments going on. One is the argument about the building of single units. There is also a lot of campaigning on our need for family accommodation. Of course we need family accommodation, but most of our built housing stock is already family accommodation and it is difficult to push the argument for good-quality single accommodation, which is desperately needed if we are to deliver on Housing First. I would like Dr. O'Carroll's view on that.

Furthermore, Dr. O'Carroll will know that in the constituency we share we have a predominance of emergency accommodation, which I consider a substandard form of accommodation. I appreciate it meets a need in an emergency but it is not suitable for long-term accommodation.