Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)

It is often said that a Government is judged on how it deals with the most vulnerable people in society. Clearly, the fact that the problem of homelessness was not dealt with during the Celtic tiger years makes it more difficult to remedy the situation now.

I commend the MakeRoom campaign which has lobbied me and other spokespersons on this issue in terms of getting the Government to accept a clearer definition of homelessness. Perhaps the Minister of State will say with what part of the definitions put forward by Deputies Lynch and Ó Snodaigh he is unhappy. I commend the Minister of State on his personal interest in tackling the homelessness issue, on his vision to eliminate homelessness by 2010 and the fact that he has accepted this is an issue requiring to be tackled in this legislation.

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