Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Absolutely. I have made my point. I want to be certain that we are going to gather the information necessary to properly assess the needs and meet them in the strategy.

We had a discussion on undue segregation because I had a related amendment earlier, but I wish to refresh the Minister's memory. "Undue segregation" is stated. There is no due segregation; segregation is wrong. It is a form of housing apartheid and has to stop. The stigmatisation of social housing is a genuine problem that we have to eliminate. The key to this is a matter that cannot be dealt with in this Bill, namely raising social housing income thresholds to a much higher level, as has occurred elsewhere, in order that social housing will not just be for the people on the very lowest incomes. That is for another day's work but what can be addressed here is ensuring that when, for example, we have Part V obligations – now to become Part VII obligations – or when there are other measures taken by the local authority, all the social housing is not put in one place, all north facing, as happened with a development in my area. All the non-Part V accommodation had a much better spec and was of much better quality. That must not happen. It is absolutely wrong and it reinforces segregation and the stigmatisation of social housing. The phrase "undue segregation" is wrong. We should simply state there should be no segregation.