Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I listened with interest to the Minister's speech and I will be happy to take him up on his invitation to visit South Dublin County Council's headquarters. Perhaps he will be kind enough to visit my clinic on Friday morning where he will hear a very different tune to the one he hears in the council's headquarters. He will hear the stories of people in extremis who are looking for housing but cannot afford it.

A significant effort is required, by way of Government policy, to address the case of people whose marriages have broken down. I refer in particular to males in their 50s who have left the family home. Many of them are in poor or declining health and are living in very poor circumstances with no possibility of ever getting a home from their local authority. The needs of separated or single males in their older years who have nowhere to go and find it very difficult to bring about significant improvements in their living conditions are increasing and are not prioritised.

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