Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On staffing, we need to look at the tenantin situscheme.

I came across a terrible case last Friday where a lady got a phone call at 3 p.m. to say the local authority was looking at purchasing the house. She was leaving the house on the Saturday and going into a family hub because for six months she was waiting to get onto the housing list. By the time she got onto the list, the landlord had sold the house. By the way, the landlord was willing to sell it to the local authority. The landlord sold the house and the woman and her four-year-old daughter are now in the family hub. I spoke to her before I came in here today. That was a resources issue. The Minister had not provided the ministerial directive or note in relation to the tenant in situscheme. The Minister is merely telling local authorities to put a tenant in situscheme in place but is giving them no resources and no staff. I know of other people who will be in the same position. Now there seems to be a bit of push behind tenant in situscheme but I am referring to the period from June or July last, when the scheme came in, to January or February.

I also see staffing issues. We spoke about my examples in regard to housing earlier. We have a situation in Knocknaheeny regeneration, phase 2C. It has been under construction for four years. It involves 24 homes. I came from Knocknaheeny. I went to my first meeting on regeneration in September 2000 but it is now 23 years later and it will be at least another seven years before the regeneration is complete. We are knocking 420 houses to build 630. We are building 21 houses a year. This is madness. The question is, have they got the resources to deliver because something, someone or somewhere is falling down?