Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)

Threshold is trying to help renters and prevent people from becoming homeless. I have never seen homelessness at the level it is currently at. I have never seen the number of families and children affected. From the information supplied by Cork City Council, 46 families have been in emergency accommodation for more than a year. If we go back to 2021, there was none. There has been an escalation in the level of homelessness. In 2022, there were nine families homeless. The rate is going up. It is an absolute crisis. There is a homelessness emergency, especially when it comes to children. I know it is outside the remit of the witnesses but there are enough local authority homes boarded up to house every family in the State. We are looking at landlords being under pressure. Everyone is under pressure.

From Threshold's point of view, if there was one piece of advice or one thing it would ask the Government to deliver to try to prevent homelessness, or as a help to the organisation to try to prevent homelessness, what would it be?